And Life Goes On
by Irritus185
Summary: Chapter 11 Up! Sequel to Holding Hands. Volume 8 has finally started! Pararakelse Island, giant turtles and...Nyamo! It's a tropical paradise! But for Keitaro, it's just an escape from his fourth failed test! Poor Keitaro...no one likes him, huh?
1. Welcome Back to Hinata House

A/N: Hey, people! I'm back! Wow, you guys couldn't wait for my next story, huh? Frankly, I'm surprised. Also, I'm surprised that I didn't get flamed for suggesting a lemon. Thanks for that too. And don't worry, it's not just random sex, it does flow along with Keitaro's and Naru's relationship, and it doesn't happen for a long time in the story line. But there will be a whole lot of limes. ;) Just heads up, this plot is almost parallel with the manga, but veers off slightly because of Naru and Keitaro confessing so early. So the same events will happen, some slightly different from others, and you will often see excerpts right from the manga because I used it as a background check. Okay? Oh, and it's all going to be from Keitaro's POV (Point of View,) so scenes will be deleted, and the entire 11th volume will be rewritten to show Keitaro's time in America instead. Thanks! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 1: Welcome Back to Hinata House**

Love. 

It's such a strange emotion. It can be described by literal definition, quotes of people, by personal experience, and so many other ways. Frankly, I don't see why people have to define love. They should just let it happen when it happens. Because if you asked one-hundred people what their definition of love is, you're going to get one-hundred different definitions. Sigh... Human beings really confuse me. They analyze things way too much and look so much between the lines, they never really see the big picture. Anyway... 

Love, for me, is a mysterious entity that no one will really understand for as long as time goes on. It just happens, and when it does happen, I envy those people that it happens too. It's such a wonderful thing. Love makes all of the little (and sometimes big) problems just go away. Love is just simply... wonderful. That's all I can say. The other things that I like are the little sub-parts of love. 

One thing I really enjoy are the quotes for love. First there are the hippies from the early 1970s that said, "Make love, not war." Ironic that the ones saying that they would party forever are mostly working in the middle income brackets. Then there's the famous quote, "Love is all you need," by the Beatles. Man, those English swept through Japan, stealing its women's hearts like a viral disease. 

But my favorite quote of all is the quote, "Love is blind." I don't know who said, but I love it. Love isn't blind, it's just extremely nearsighted. You can still see, but it could be right in front of you and you might not ever be able to focus your attention long enough to spot it. Trust me, it happened to me and the person that I love. Well, it took her a little longer to see it while I saw it rather quickly. 

Oh, I'm sorry. I never introduced myself, did I? Hi, my name is Keitaro Urashima. I'm twenty-one years old and I live in Japan. I'm a third year ronin studying to get into Tokyo University. In case you didn't know, a ronin is a person who failed to the entrance exams. That means that I've failed three times already. I can be really sad sometimes, but no matter, I'll get in this time. I hope... 

You're probably wondering why I till want to get into a college that I've failed three times to get in to. The reason's because I made a promise with a little girl sixteen years ago to get into Tokyo U together and live happily ever after. Romantic, huh? The strange thing is that I fell in love with someone else, but the person I love and my promise girl are one and the same. It's funny how fate works, isn't it? 

Oh, and did I mention that I'm the landlord of a girl's dormitory? Now you must be thinking it's impossible for a man to be the landlord of a girl's dormitory, and to tell you the truth, it was at first. The tenants did warm up to me after a while though. But that wasn't until after I was branded as a pervert and put on the receiving end of numerous bashings. It was rather painful, to say the least. 

But that's just the way the Hinata honeys were, though I'll get to them later. Now Hinata House, that place is chaos defined. Swords people, explosions, and groping, and half the time the groping wasn't even on my part. I'm not the only one there with a sex drive, you know. Well, maybe it was a little more on my part, but I swear that it's purely accidental. Don't believe me? Ask anyone. I seem to have a curse that gives me horrible klutziness and a hellish bad luck. Fortunately, I make up for it by being immortal. Oh yeah, I'm immortal. Seems God decided to compensate me for my curse by giving me immortality. And trust me, when you go into L.E.O. (Low Earth Orbit), it's very helpful when gravity decides to pay attention to you and pull you back down to the ground at a terminal velocity. And I do mean terminal. Anyone else in my position would be a squish mark on the ground. 

Not only that, I'm also a martial artist. I was trained by my grandma (crazy old bat, but I love her anyway), and I am actually very good, even after her unorthodox training methods. Think ropes, boulders, and you'll get my point. Oh, and there once was this time where she took a shark, some dental floss, and some... I think I'll stop now. It'd get too disturbing otherwise. 

Now I'll introduce you to my life at Hinata House and the women that take up every part of it. I hope you can find the charm behind its crazy and scary exterior just like I did. 

***** 

"Kyaaahhh!! Pervert!" 

Those were the last words I heard before I felt a fist connect with my head and was flung into the air. I was able to catch a tree branch before I exited the area and saw a flash of auburn as the girl who had just punched me stomped off the scene. 

That's Naru Narusegawa, my girlfriend, my promise girl, and the girl I love. She's nineteen and a first-year ronin who also tried to get into Tokyo U, but for reasons I don't feel like discussing at the moment. She's very beautiful and intelligent too. Oh, who am I kidding? She's a goddess. Naru's also the reason my grades have improved so greatly because she's been tutoring me for the past year and a half. And she's really not this violent all the time. Well, actually she is, but she's getting better, I swear! 

"Naru," I cried out. "I'm sorry! It was an accident!" I got no response so I sighed and jumped down from the branch to the ground. Unfortunately, my neck cuff snagged on the way down and I was caught suspended in mid-air with a branch poking me in the back. I reached my hands behind me to release my shirt from the branch, but to no effect. I was stuck. Crap. This really sucked. I hung there for a couple minutes until I heard a voice from beneath me. 

"Hey, Keitaro. Get into another fight with Naru?" 

I looked to find a woman with her hands jammed in her pockets and an amused look on her face. "Hey, Kitsune." I said back. 

That's Mitsune Konno, aka 'Kitsune.' She's known as the fox not only by her physical features, including the fact that her eyes seem to be stuck in a perpetual state of being closed (she only opens them when something interests her, but sometimes I really wonder why she does that; it's probably because she's always drunk) but also because she's clever like one too. She's always has an off-color remark, or a plan or two to do something devious. I can't count the number of times she's tricked me into groping her for one month's free rent. She's also twenty-one and is your class A slacker. 

"So?" She raised an eyebrow. "Did you?" 

"It's now what you think! I fell off the roof sparring with Motoko when I slipped on one of Su's discarded banana peels. It was an accident that I fell into the hot spring when Naru was taking a bath." 

"It's always just an accident with you, isn't it, Keitaro?" Kitsune sighed. 

"Kitsune!" I was growing frustrated hanging in a tree while a person who could have been helping me was instead telling me what a lech and liar I was. Sometimes, these women really got on my nerves. 

"You know, Keitaro..." Kitsune said. She looked at me slyly. "You've become quite the ladies' man lately." 

I guess I could agree. Not only was Naru my girlfriend, but the rest of the girls were getting quite friendly towards me also. "Too bad you're already taken," she sighed sadly. 

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement. She stared at me. "Too bad I have a goddess of both beauty and brains who loves me. How cruel life is to give such a horrible fate. Alas, I am in such torture." I smirked at her, but it didn't hold as much power as I would have liked considering I was unceremoniously suspended above the ground. "Now, are you going to get me down?" 

Kitsune's face shifted into a fox grin. "Payment is 1000 yen." 

"I should have known," I muttered. Kitsune never gave up an opportunity to gain some easy cash. Whether it was borrowing or blackmailing, she would find a way. Luckily, I was spared when I saw another person who could help me. "Motoko!" I shouted out. 

"Urashima!" The raven-headed girl cried back. "I wondered what happened to you after I heard Naru's yells." She eyed me suspiciously. 

Motoko Aoyama has always been the first one to accuse me of my 'perverted tendencies.' We have what you would call a 'love-hate relationship.' She loves to hate me. Well, maybe not... She hasn't really been following through with my punishments as of late. Maybe Naru said something or... Never mind. Anyway, she's supposedly the heir to the God's Cry School of Swordsmanship. She's very good when it comes to kendo, and I was very afraid of her when I first... no, scratch that. I was scared shitless. Okay back to the story. When I first came to Hinata House despite the fact I myself am also a martial artist and immortal to boot. I know I'm immortal, but let's see you think coherently when someone has a **very** sharp katana to your throat saying she would easily slice it through your jugular without any regret whatsoever. Oh, by the way, she's seventeen and a junior in high school. 

"No, this isn't Naru's fault. It was my bad luck, like always." I sighed. I really did hate asking for help. "Think you could get me down?" 

"Very well." She drew her katana and raised it above her head. "Rock-splitting sword!" God, that has got to be her favorite attack. She uses it the most often, mostly on me. I've seen it so many times, I could probably do it perfectly if I tried. 

Her sword sliced neatly through the branch and I landed gently on my feet. As I got up, I smiled at her. "Thank you, Motoko. You saved me from having to pay off Kitsune." 

Motoko smiled back at me. "I would not wish that on anyone, Urashima." 

"Excuse me!" We both turned to Kitsune who was tapping her foot and had puffed up cheeks. It made her look like a chipmunk jacked on caffeine. "I am right here you know!" 

"We know," I smirked at her. "That's the entire point." She stuck her tongue out at me in response. I chuckled. "Anyway, you see where Naru went?" 

"Why?" She said. "I thought you said it was an accident. Why should you be apologizing?" This was not good. You never saw an upset Kitsune. She was either drunk or mischievous, or more commonly, both. I must have really done something wrong to affect her like this. 

"It was," I replied. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't apologize. I did still see her half-naked." Motoko stiffened at this and I saw her hand stray to her katana, but she restrained, and for that I was thankful. 

"Oh, fine," Kitsune huffed. "She went over to the steps that lead to Hinata House." 

I nodded my thanks and made my way to the entrance of the hot springs. As I did, I made a mental note to clean it up. The stones were beginning to collect slime from the soap and water coating them. When I did make it to the changing room, I turned around to look at the two women. 

"Kitsune, I'm sorry if I made you angry for any reason. I did mean to, so will you please forgive me?" I bowed. She looked surprised at first, but then one of her patented grins crossed her face and she flapped her hand at me. I bowed once more, said my thanks, and walked into the dormitory I was just glad that that conflict had blown over so easily. I wondered what I had done, but decided not to dwell on it. I'd rather not break down the schematics of Kitsune's mind. 

When entered the lobby, I found four of the other Hinata House members in an interesting scene. An Indian girl was trying to tackle a young, blue-haired girl who was holding a tray of food above her head. She was doing a very good job avoiding the onslaught of the tanned girl by repeatedly twirling away. The two others were watching the antics of their fellow tenants. One of them was a very young, blonde child who was watching them with a look halfway between amusement and annoyance. The other was a woman in her late-twenties, smoking a cigarette. 

"C'mon, Shinobu..." The Indian girl cried. "Give me food, I'm hungry..." 

"No, Su!" 

Shinobu Maehara is a fourteen-year old with a heart of gold. She's very sweet whose emotions often get the best of her since she's almost always seems to be on the verge of tears. She was one of the first tenants to accept me into Hinata House, although it didn't start well because she lost faith in me after the girls exposed my lie about attending Tokyo U. (I'll tell you about it some other time.) But I made up for it for when I promised I would make my lie a reality by getting accepted. We've been pretty friendly ever since. She calls me her sempai, which means respect for an elder. 

Anyway, she's the one who does more of the chores than anyone else, except me of course. She cleans and does the laundry and cooks, and, oh, God can she cook. She could make a five-course meal out of nuclear waste if she wanted. Which I think might have happened once when Su cooked for us. I'll get to her later. But lately, Shinobu's been acting funny around me. I really don't know why considering I'm kinda dense when it comes to interpreting emotions. 

"You can't have lunch yet. Besides, didn't you just have fifty bananas?" Shinobu finished. 

"But, Shinobu..." 

"Hey guys!" I called out, walking onto the scene. They all turned their attention towards me as the fight for the food was temporarily put on hold. 

"Hello, sempai." Shinobu bowed. 

"Keitaro..." Su whined. "Shinobu won't feed me." 

Kaolla Su is the living embodiment of 'a bottomless pit.' That girl could eat for twenty people, go back for more, and not gain a single pound. She's got to have a hyped-up metabolism for her to eat that much food and not have any drastic changes within her body structure. Oh, and speaking of hyped-up, Su is hyperactivity defined. She's already fifteen, but she acts like a ten-year old by the way she flies around the room, usually into me. She also has a gift for mechanics and is constantly building new inventions that cause mass destruction using little, old me as the unfortunate guinea pig. She's a foreigner, but we have no idea what country she's from because she still hasn't told us yet. 

"Is that true, Shinobu?" I said to her in a mock-disgruntled tone. "You won't give poor starving Su any food? Look at her, she's wasting away." 

Su did her best to show that she was melting into nothingness, but that girl gives off so much healthy energy, she couldn't even if her life depended on it. Shinobu looked at her, the giggled and blushed, murmuring something which I think sounded like, 'sempai.' See what I mean by acting weird? 

Anyway, might as well have a little fun. I put on one of my best smiles and looked at Shinobu. "Shinobu..." I said sweetly. "Think I could have a little snack, please?" The immediate reaction was Shinobu blushed, bowed her head, and held the tray out. I took two pieces off of it and Su stared at me jealously. I just grinned in return and popped a piece into my mouth. As usual, it was a masterpiece of taste and texture. 

I let out a contended sigh. "As usual, your cooking is exquisite, Shinobu." 

Shinobu let another blush and said thank you. I grinned again and looked at Su. She stared at the leftover piece of food in my hand like a starving puppy. I knew I couldn't deny her for long, so I tossed the remaining piece towards her where she pounced on and devoured it in a matter of seconds. She looked at me and I saw a glint in her eye. 

That could only mean one thing and I tried to back away. But it was too late. Su attacked me in one of her special full-out glomps. Now Su's glomps are one of those unbeatable moves that can only be defeated with the help of other people. It probably has to do with the fact that she almost melds with her victim. 

"Thank you, Keitaro! I love you so much!" Her arms tightened their hold around my neck and my vision started to become blurry from the lack of air to my lungs. 

"That's nice, Su. But could you let go?" 

She violently shook her head. "Nuh-uh, I'm never leaving your side. You bring me food." She tightened her grip even more if that was possible, and I could definitely feel being devoid of air as my legs began to wobble. 

"Su... dear." I managed to gasp out. "I'm going to collapse soon... So please... let... go!" But as I said before, Su's glomps can't be defeated without help. I turned to the blonde girl while Su continued to nuzzle my cheek. "Sarah?" 

"Yeah, dork?" 

Sarah MacDougall. Nine years old and she's got on of the most mature minds that I know of. She's also one of the most mischievous people I've ever known and is a perfect balance of Kitsune and Su. Deviousness and pure energy. The way we met wasn't under best conditions... well, actually it was, but she just didn't like me. God, was she such a satanic brat when I met her. Well, actually, she's still a satanic brat, but she's my responsibility now. Oh, about the mature mind. She's still just a child, so she doesn't know certain things, but she has a very grown-up philosophy on life in general. 

"Could you please go and get my crowbar?" 

Now you're probably wondering why I carry a crowbar around with me. It's actually not all that strange when you live in a place like Hinata House. You could use it to open up one of the many packages that come, use it during repairs, or use it to pry something or someone from off of your skin. 

After a couple minutes straining, and with the help of a rather large crowbar, Shinobu and Sarah were able to separate Su from me and drag her off to do something else. The woman smoking the cigarette walked over to me, smiled, and said, "Having an interesting day, Keitaro?" 

The woman's name is Haruka Urashima. She's my aunt, but she doesn't like to be called that because she's only twenty-eight. She's always bashing me whenever I call her 'Aunt Haruka' because she's only seven years than me and it makes her sounds like an old lady. She used to be the housemother before I arrived and she also seems to have a cigarette permanently hanging within the vicinity of her mouth. She's also stoic most of the time, which infuriates me to no end on how anyone can keep calm and reserved in place like the dormitory. But she does always give me good advice whenever I need it. 

"Yeah, you could say that." She smiled again. She seemed to be doing that a lot more lately. It's good, because frowning too much can give you premature wrinkles. I guess it could be because of Seta. 

Oh yeah... Seta. Full name: Noriyasu Seta. He's my boss, I'm his part-timer, it works out. I work with him every now and then at Tokyo U, piecing together broken artifacts, but I'm mostly just a babysitter for Sarah. He's like her father figure, but I'm not really sure if they're actually related or not. The same could be said for his relationship with Haruka. It's very enigmatic... to say the least. They've must have gone out seeing how they act towards each other. I wonder what happened between them? 

Anyway, another thing about Seta is that Naru used to have a huge crush on him. He was the reason she wanted to go to Tokyo U because he worked there and was her tutor through high school. Needless to say, when I found this out I got rather depressed. Luckily, things worked out since she loves me now and we're happy. Though we'll probably be a little happier once I find and apologize to her. 

"Anyway, I've got to go find Naru." 

"Pissed her off again, did you?" 

"Yeah, but I'm getting better." 

"Hmph." She took a drag of her cigarette. 

I frowned at it. "Those things are unhealthy you know." 

"Yeah," she sighed. "I know." She waved her hand around her head. "And your point is...?" 

I decided to leave it at that. It was obvious that the conversation wasn't going anywhere. I waved good-bye and headed to the front of Hinata House. I slid the door open and walked out. It was quite chilly out, and I hoped that Naru wasn't too cold. 

As I headed out, I heard two different voices calling out towards me. "Oh my, hello Urashima." "Myuh." I turned to see a beautiful brown-haired woman with a turtle perched on her shoulder waving at me and smiling absentmindedly. 

"Hello, Mutsumi, hello, Tama-chan.' 

Mutsumi Otohime is a little older than me, about twenty-two and also a third-year ronin. She was dear childhood friend of mine that I hadn't seen or even remembered for sixteen years. She was the one who told me about the Tokyo U promise, and for a little while I thought she was my promise girl. But you know that that isn't true, so now she's just one of my best friends and she, Naru, and me study together for the exams. She also has anemia and is constantly fainting pretty much everywhere. 

Tama-chan is a very special type of hot springs turtle that can fly. Yes, she can fly and quite quickly too. She can also write and talk somewhat. I don't find this too strange because I live I a place like Hinata House as I have told you before. She's also almost always running for her life from either Su, who's always trying to eat her, or Motoko, whose strange fear of turtles drives her to destroy the 'evil beast' that plaques her. It's ironic because Motoko seems to be Tama-chan's favorite person at Hinata House. 

"What are you doing out here?" Mutsumi asked, tilting her head innocently. 

"Looking for Naru." 

"Oh my. Did you...?" 

"Yes." Was everybody going to ask me if I pissed her off? 

"Oh well... I'm sure she'll be very happy when you apologize." 

"Yeah, thank you, Mutsumi." 

"You're welcome. Bye, Urashima." 

"Bye, Mutsumi." 

"Myuh!" 

"Good-bye to you too, Tama-cha." As they wandered off, I made sure to watch Mutsumi in case she might faint unexpectedly. She didn't, and slowly made it into the house. I sighed and turned to go look for Naru again. 

I found her sitting at the top of the stone staircase. The wind was blowing her auburn hair around, and I thought that she looked simply stunning. I saw her shiver slightly and rub her arms up and down for warmth. Deciding to surprise her, and get her warm at the same time, I snuck up behind her and sat down. She still hadn't noticed me so I snaked my arms around her, then quickly pulled her into my chest. 

She jumped briefly, then relaxed when she realized who had done it. Then she remembered what had happened earlier and I could feel her bristle in my arms. 

"Hey, I said was sorry, didn't I?" I said. I received no response so I began to nuzzle into the crook of her neck. I felt her relax slightly, but I still got nothing as to show that she had forgiven me. 

To try to get something more... friendly, I began to place light butterfly kisses on her neck. "Forgive me?" 

She started to giggle, but shook her head. But I could tell that I was starting to get to her. I made my tender ministrations on her neck a little more firm and slower. I moved up to her ear and whispered huskily, "How about now?" She shivered and shook her head again, but this time with a little more hesitation. 

Finally, I couldn't take it any more. I slowly made my way to under her chin. Naru must have felt warm enough towards me to do such actions because she shifted around so that I could have access to her throat. I smiled at her permission and I placed an open-mouthed kiss on it. I could hear and feel her moan as I continued to suck until I took my lips off her throat and replaced it with her lips for a soft kiss. 

"Okay," she whispered. "You're forgiven." 

"Good," I said as I leaned back to kiss her again. This one was little longer and more passionate, but it still was not that much. After we stopped, I gave her nose a soft peck and pulled her into my lap. She giggled and melted into me as she leaned on my shoulder while I held her. I loved her so much, and I was happy to say that she loved me too. 

We had been going out for about a month now, ever since Christmas. Boy, was that a busy time. It started out with us thinking that Mutsumi was my promise girl and me having to make a decision between her and Naru. The conflict ended with a surprising change of attitude for me when I wandered off, leaving them by themselves. 

When returned, everyone was passed out from the party. I went to bed, and the next day I walked the road between heaven and hell. To start with, I got a terrible cold and then was blown up by one of Su's Mecha-tama robots. While I was unconscious, I remembered partly of what had happened during my childhood, more specifically, who my promise girl was. When I woke up, I found out that the girls had been listening to me. I snapped like a rubber-band and had actually cursed them all out. 

After that, Haruka gave them some insight into my feelings for all of them and my past. They discovered that I was a martial artist, and to put it quite frankly, they were totally surprised. They never suspected their poor, weak, stupid manager wasn't as poor and weak as they thought he was. Heh, I guess I can still surprise them, huh? 

Anyway, to make a long story short, Naru and I finally confessed our love for each other, and that's how we got to where we are today. Now back to the present. As I said before, I had been going out with Naru for about a month, and it had been touch-and-go for a while. Well, it was always touch and go with Naru, but we now have our tender moments as you saw from before. Heh, and I sure am happy when we have those... Anyway, all was right with the world as we watched the snow start to gently fall from the sky to cover the ground below. As I watched the snow fall, I thought about how I never thought a day like this would come... Yep, this was going to be an interesting year. For me, for Naru, for everyone... Of course, it was always like that when you lived in a place like Hinata House. To live there was to have a life experience that you would never forget for as long as you lived. And now, I'm just repeating myself. Oh, well... Hope to see you again. 

A/N: Whew! Well, I finally got the first chapter of my sequel typed up. I'd like to thank my pre-readers for helping me with the... well... pre-reading. Anyway, I've only got about five chapters written for a rough draft, and there should be around twenty in all, so there will be a lot of time between chapter updates. Please don't hate me! Anyway, on to the characters and I'll talk to you some more at the end of that. 

Me: Hey, people! _(waves)_ I'm back with the character interviews, but since this all from Keitaro's pov, and I decided to talk to him only. Keitaro? 

Keitaro: Hey, Yamiga. Thanks for finally getting me and Naru together. 

Me: Ehh, twern't nothin'. I always thought you guys were the perfect couple. Sorta like Ranma and Akane, Ryoko and Tenchi, Belldandy and Keiichi... 

Keitaro: _(scratches back of head)_ Who? 

Me: _(sweatdrops)_ Ehh, never mind. _(turns around to face audience)_ And if any of you, **any of you** readers don't like that... _(glares)_ You can bite my intangible, digital ass. And if you do actually do that, I am very scared of you. 

Keitaro: _(sweatdrops)_ Geez, Yamiga. You've changed. 

Me: Sorry. When it comes to pairings, I get a little emotional. Frankly, I think you'd do well with any of the girls, but I still think Naru and you are the best pair. And SolarFire2, she may be all those things (even I have to admit that), but they love each other so back off! I said no flames! If you don't like it, don't read it! 

Keitaro: And who's that? 

Me: Just a reviewer who didn't like the ending. 

Keitaro: Oh. Anyway, how'd you get us all alone here. 

Me: _(sweatdrops)_ You just made that sound really, really wrong... But anyway, I'm the author, I can do whatever I want in this world. But basically I just put a titanium wall between us and them. 

Keitaro: You do realize they'll probably just tear through it. What with Motoko's chi attacks and Su's mecha-tamas. 

Me: _(glances nervously)_ I never thought of that... 

_Just then, a giant explosion rocks the room that we are in. Keitaro and me are thrown away like ragdolls as a hole appears in one of the walls. Su's head pops up in it and looks in on the destruction._

Su: Hurray! We got through! 

Motoko: Hmph. About time. 

_The rest of the Hinata crew files through the hole and into the room. Meanwhile, Keitaro and me pick ourselves up and I glare at the girls menacingly._

Me: I can't believe you guys did that! Have you no respect for others privacy!? 

Su: Oh, come on, Yamiga... We just wanted to be in the interview. 

Me: But the entire point of a private interview is that it's just that: private! 

Su: Yamiga... 

Me: No way! That's it! Punishment time for you girls... _(whips out katana)_ Say hello to the Ryuujin Hikari. It's a katana I used for one of the first actual stories I wrote. Anyway... _(grins maliciously)_ Henjou ryuujin hikari teritsukera isshiki! (Translation: Let loose the dragon king's light to shine down upon all) 

_A giant burst of light erupts from the katana and envelops everyone but me and Keitaro. When the light dissipates, everyone is unconscious save the two of us. Keitaro stares at me with an amazed look on his face._

Keitaro: _(in awe)_ Wow... 

Me: _(grins)_ Like that? I'm still deciding whether or not to transplant this baby from my original story to this one much later in the storyline. It should be perfect for when Motoko gets the Hina Blade. 

Keitaro: The what? 

Me: Oops, too far in the storyline. _(laughs nervously)_ Anyway, that's all the time I have for today, so goodbye everybody! Keitaro? 

Keitaro: Oh, right! _(bows)_ Please Review! 

A/N: Okay, so the first chapter's done. Hooray! Anyway, I decided to add three new characters to the storyline. The first two pop up in chapter three and they are part of Keitaro himself. The third one doesn't appear until volume 11, and no it isn't going to be a self-insert, so don't worry. I just need an extra person to spice up Keitaro's time in America. Anyway, about the special katana. I was thinking about Keitaro finding it during his travels in America in one of those cave-digging explorations. It should make a cool and funny experience when he fights Motoko. You know, good sword vs. bad. Anyway, give me your opinion and I'll decide whether or not to. Anyway, please review, and remember, no flames! 

_Preview!!!!_ Thought I'd add something new to my stories and give you a preview of the next chapter. Enjoy! 

_Next Chapter: Sweeter than Chocolate _

Somebody then suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to Sarah who had a disgusted look on her face. She pointed and said, "I think Su found another reason to eat Tama-chan." I followed her finger and saw Su trying to shove Tama-chan, chocolate block and all, into her mouth. I sweatdropped again before springing into action... 


	2. Sweeter than Chocolate

A/N: Heyo people! I'm back! How you all doing? I'm fine, except for two things. Not to all you writers: writer's block and schoolwork are not good when it comes to ideas. I'm totally stuck on what to write for the six chapter! Argh! I know what to write, but I don't know how to write it down! It totally blows! Anyway... glad to see you all writing reviews for me. So here's a special thanks to each of you. 

**jennyjennai:** I'm sorry you don't like the pairing, but you're right. Flames are stupid; you don't like the story, keep it to yourself. All you're doing is hurting the author's feelings. Anyway, thank you for the great review. Yes, this is an ambitious undertaking, and I will do my best to make sure you are all satisfied. Thank you! 

**K34:** Thank you for the review. It was very nice. And about the character info. It sounds like the guy I'm already doing in the sense that he's a mixed race. I tell you people what he's going to be like at the end of this chapter. Anyway, thank you very much. 

**Android K:** Hey, my pre-reader! How you doing? Thanks for helping me out and thank you also for the reviews. I really like them. Hope we can keep working together too. 

**lifelessdummy:** thank you for the review. It's cool. About the pov however, I want to try and keep it from Keitaro's pov as much as possible. I did think about changing it, but I decided to keep it just his. It would take up too much of my poor mind to be switching pov's every chapter. But thank you anyway! 

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you for the review. I will as soon as possible. 

**Shadowed-Moon2525:** thanks for the vote of confidence. And hey, I'm still waiting for your story. C'mon man, where is it? I want to read it! 

**Turtle Lady:** hey girl! Thanks for the review. I love it! I think the two make a good couple two as long as they aren't interrupted by the others. If you read the manga, you can't count the number of times their sappy moments are broken up. 

**John McCoy:** thanks for the review man. It's cool. I'm guessing it's good if you can't have words for it huh? Anyway, thank you very much 

Thank you all! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 2: Sweeter than Chocolate**

I awoke in my futon to a beautiful morning, although for me, I wasn't sure whether to look forward to or dread the day. The reason was because it was Valentine's Day. I'd like to find the person who created this damned holiday, drag him into a dark alleyway, and proceed to brutally slaughter him. 

Valentine's day in Japan goes like this. Boys receive one of two types of chocolates from girls: giri and honmei. Giri chocolate is given to friends and people you're associated with. Basically, it's a friendly gesture like a handshake or a hug. But honmei chocolate is given to lovers or people you really like. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hoped I'd get some honmei chocolate from Naru. I shouldn't keep my hopes too high though because even though Naru does love me, she doesn't like to show her feelings so much. Like even though everyone at home knows that we're together, we don't show that many PDA's (Public Displays of Affection.) The acts we do actually do are usually done in the privacy of our room. 

Another reason I shouldn't hope too much is that I hadn't even received giri chocolate from any girls until a year ago when I had my first Valentine's Day at Hinata House. I wasn't exactly what you would call the 'popular' type. 

But I did find a way to avoid looking like a total loser. Now it may sound pathetic, but I made fake chocolates to give to myself... Now that I think about it that is pathetic! I was a loser! Ahhhh! Oh well, at least something good came out of it. Because I made so many chocolates, I polished my cake-making skills to the level of that of a pastry chef. Funny such a cool skill could come from such pathetic beginnings. 

Unfortunately, that skill created quite a fiasco during my first Valentine's Day at the dormitory. The day didn't start off well and it didn't end off any better because my reputation was seriously destroyed. 

One bad part was the giri chocolates I received from some of the girls. My very first piece of chocolate from a girl was a ten-yen piece from Kitsune that was no bigger than my thumbnail. Cheapskate... bet she spent the money she saved on booze. Needless to say, I was disappointed. It didn't get any better because from then on I had a giant slab of curry-flavored chocolate jammed down my throat by Su, (curry-flavored chocolate... who the hell comes up with these ideas?) and was given baking chocolate by Motoko. I know it's going to end up the same in your stomach, but that's not the point! 

During this entire time, Shinobu was trying to give me some homemade chocolate that she had made to help me through my exams because my grades were nearly nonexistent. Sweet, isn't she? She kept on chickening out however, and when she did gather enough courage, she caught me trying to dispose of one of my 'masterpiece chocolates.' 

She misinterpreted this as though some girl had actually given it to me and ran off. Running after her, I caught her on the roof. There, she proceeded to fall off and even though I was able to stop her I ended up at the bottom of a dogpile because the others had to hold onto me to make I sure I didn't fall off too. Then I confessed to her about my special skill. Everyone else of course heard this, and then laughed and called me a pathetic loser. I should have expected it. 

But it wasn't a total disaster. Despite the fact that the chocolate Shinobu made me was broken from the fall, it still tasted very good. And while we were studying, Naru even gave me a little giri chocolate. So, it wasn't too bad. 

But now, with seven women living in one place, I was kind of afraid of what the day would bring. My main concern was whether or not Naru would give me a honmei chocolate. One slightly less important would be if Su would try to force-feed me her special curry-flavored chocolate. That combination not only tastes horrible, but it also does horrors on your digestive tract. 

I sighed. Might as well take the day as it came and deal with it. I got out of my futon and dressed into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Next, I put my contacts in. Yeah, I exchanged my trademark glasses for contacts because Naru said I looked cute without glasses. So if I can do anything to make her like me more... heh, heh. 

I walked out of my room and down the stairs into the lobby to find no one there. I didn't mind however because the chaos would be put off for a little while longer then. I sat down and closed my eyes to try to imagine what would happen when the girls also came downstairs. 

"E-excuse me, s-s-sempai?" I opened one eye to see Shinobu standing in front of me with her hands behind her back. She seemed to be quivering slightly. I wonder what she wanted? I mentally smacked myself up the head. It was Valentine's Day, you idiot! 

I opened my other eye and smiled at her. She stopped fidgeting so much as I leaned forward. "Yes, Shinobu? What is it?" 

"E-excuse me, s-sempai! But will you..." She screwed her eyes shut and thrusted her hands towards me. In them was a carefully wrapped package. Three guesses to what it was, and if you don't get it on the first try, congratulations, you're denser than me. "Will you please accept my gift for you?" 

Even though I expected it somewhat, I was still happy. After all, I was just getting used to actually receiving chocolates on Valentine's Day. "Wow, thanks, Shinobu! This means a lot to me. Thank you..." I trailed off as the blood drained from my face when I saw something that chilled my soul. There was Su, thundering towards me with something large in her hands. I shoved the chocolate back into Shinobu's hands and took off. 

"Sempai," she said. I could hear the hurt tone in her voice and I mentally winced. I had a lot of apologizing to do later, but right now I had to run. "What...?" 

She was answered rather quickly when Su's voice rang out. "Keitarooo!!! Let me give you your giri chocolate!" She quickly gave chase and I soon felt her clutch at my shoulder. 

"Noooooo... argh!" I cried out as Su crammed the chocolate into my mouth. It melted on my tongue and erupted it into a fiery inferno. God, that stuff is the most vile tasting shit in the world. 

Before she could shove the entire piece into my mouth though, I shoved her off of me and spat out what was in my mouth. "Damn it, Su!" I gasped. "You crazy Indian girl!" I knew she meant well, but that didn't me she could kill me. 

"What's wrong, Keitaro?" She grinned. "Didn't you like my special giri chocolate? I made it extra spicy just for you." 

I fell to my knees trying to catch my breath. I wiped my lips with my sleeves, trying to rid them of that horrid taste. "Ugh... curry and chocolate do not go together, Su... Shinobu?" I turned to her, where she was still standing after Su's attack on me. 

"Yes, sempai?" She asked dejectedly. Damn, I had some work to do. 

"Think I could have your chocolate back?" 

She seemed to perk up. "You, you want my chocolate?" 

I smiled at her. "Of course I want your chocolate. I need some good tasting chocolate to wash my mouth of this taste out with." 

She became even happier. A blush began to form on her face. "You think my chocolate is good tasting?" 

"Yes, I do." 

"Thank you, sempai!" She was in one of her full blush modes now. Geez, Shinobu really knew how to turn on the cutesy charm factor. Well, that was done with. I was glad. I don't like to make any of them unhappy. I smiled again, walked over to her, and took the chocolate back. I had a taste. It was delicious, as I thought it would be. I made some idle chat with Shinobu and Su until Motoko entered the room. 

"Urgh, Urashima?" I could tell she was dreading something, but I didn't know exactly what. 

"Yes, Motoko?" 

"Normally I refrain from such modern customs as this, but since you were nice enough to help me with my training last year, let's say that I'm just repaying the debt and not go too far into it." She held up a package grudgingly. "Here." 

"Gee, thanks, Motoko," I said. I gave her one of my smiles that they all seemed to like and said, "It's much better than baking chocolate, isn't it." She flushed, and then smiled in return. She sure was changing from the emotionless warrior she used to be. 

I turned away from her and heard in the background Su asking her how much it cost. Motoko responded by yelling at her to shut up. I smirked at their little exchanged before I was confronted by Kitsune and Sarah. 

"Hey, Keitaro, got something for you. The usual... ten-yen chocolate." Kitsune grinned at me. I knew what would happen next. "Don't forget me on White day." Yep, I was right. Anyway, White Day is on March fourteenth where guys return the favors for the chocolates given to them. 

"Don't worry," I smirked. "I'll get you a nice air freshener. God knows your room needs it. The damn place reeks of booze." I'm not kidding. The last time I was in there, I nearly passed out from the smell of bad sake, beer, vodka, gin, plum wine... I seriously think that Kitsune has a big problem when it comes to alcohol. 

Kitsune half-opened an eye. That usually meant that something of interest had just happened. "Not bad, Keitaro," she said. Was that approval I heard in her voice? "You're getting better at your retorts." I just gave her an imitation of her grin. 

"Hey, dork," said Sarah. "I haven't forgotten about that crappy present you gave me for Christmas, but here's a little gift to you from me." She handed me a small box labeled, "Giri Choco." 

"Thanks, Sarah." I took the box from her and smiled. "But don't say that my gift is crappy. You seem to carry it around a lot, especially when you're bashing me." 

She smirked at me. "That's because it's nice and heavy." She was right as I absentmindedly rubbed at the bump I still had from one of her attacks she did the other day. Maybe I shouldn't of gotten her a talking stone face. 

I looked around. I still hadn't seen Naru or Mutsumi, so I was starting to get a little depressed. I wanted to see Mutsumi because she was my best friend, and I wanted to see Naru because I wanted to at least talk to my girlfriend on Valentine's Day. 

I started to eat my chocolate with the others when I heard Naru screaming. I turned to see her and Mutsumi with a giant chocolate with wings floating between them. Wait... a flying chocolate? 

Mutsumi then said, "I thought I'd make one for the record books and be the first to make a flying chocolate!" 

Su shouted, "It's a UFO!" Right after, Tama-chan's head poked out of the front. First I sweatdropped, then I smacked myself in the head. Tama-chan in chocolate. That was just plain cruelty to animals. 

Naru spoke my thoughts. "You can't just encase Tama-chan in a block of chocolate! That's just gross!" 

"Don't worry," Mutsumi said. "I made a real one too." 

"Hey dork." I felt someone hit me on the head. No wait, I knew this person. She was the only person to insult and harm me just to get my attention. 

"What, Sarah?" I sighed, turning to her. 

Sarah had a disgusted look on her face. She pointed and said, "I think Su found another reason to eat Tama-chan." I followed her finger and saw Su trying to shove Tama-chan, chocolate block and all, into her mouth. I sweatdropped again before springing into action. 

I rushed over to Su and began to yank Tama-chan out of her mouth. Su mumbled in protest, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to let Tama-chan die inside a chocolate bar. That would be both humiliating and demeaning. I was finally able to get Tama-chan out unscathed, but Su was happy enough because she at least got to eat the Tama-chan flavored chocolate. I looked at her and said, "Su, I've said this once, and I'll say it again. Tama-chan... is... not... food!" 

"Well if she isn't, then why did God make her taste so good?" 

I sweatdropped and sat down with Tama-chan perched on my shoulder. I put my face in my hands and groaned. "Su, that's not the point. Just... don't eat her." 

"Oh, Urashima..." I heard Mutsumi's lilt voice carry across the air towards me. I looked up, smiled, and nodded my awareness. "Here's your giri chocolate, Urashima." I looked at it, and my eyes almost bugged out. It was fantastic looking. It looked like a chef had made it. 

"M-Mutsumi!" I stuttered. "Did you make this yourself?" I was in complete awe. "It looks like it was made by a pro!" Everybody crowded around the cake to look at and taste it. 

"Yum... it tastes as good as it looks." Sarah murmured. 

"It really does!" Laughed Su. 

Mutsumi giggled and put a hand to her mouth. "Why yes, it is. You see, I never had a boyfriend before and I didn't want anyone talking bad behind my back, so I started making fake chocolates. I guess I just got really good making them along the way." 

I could feel the tears start to flow from my eyes at this discovery. I took Mutsumi's hands in mine and began to shake them. "Thank you, Mutsumi." I said happily. "Now I know I'm not the only one. Thank you so much." 

"For what, Urashima?" 

Naru answered. "He did the same thing like you. He made fake chocolates for himself." She then cleared her throat and looked down. I followed her line of sight and saw that I was still holding Mutsumi's hands. 

"Ack!" I quickly pulled my hands out and bowed to both Mutsumi and Naru. "I'm sorry! I did not mean to! Please don't hit me!" 

Naru's face lost the hardened look and she smiled. She reached out and my hand into hers. She then kissed me on the cheek and whispered what I think was, "Silly boy." 

I raised an eyebrow at her blatant show of affection. This was... new. She just blushed and shrugged in return. 

"Awww..." Kitsune gave one of her semi-fox grins. "Look at the little lovebirds. Aren't they just too cute?" Naru blushed again and looked down. 

"Oh give me a break," Sarah muttered. I saw her make a few finger-down-the-throat movements to Su. Su just giggled. 

I grinned sheepishly, scratched the back of my head, and gave her hand a soft squeeze. I could feel her smile. 

Then Su had to speak up. "Hey, Naru, do you have a chocolate for Keitaro too?" 

Sarah then came next. "Is it a honmei chocolate?" She said, drawing out the word honmei. God, those two always follow each other up with those damn comments and actions. They always seem to wreck peaceful moments whenever there are any. 

I could feel Naru stiffen up at the comment. She raised her eyes and I saw the nervousness and embarrassment within them. The awkwardness of it all made me feel so sad for her. Something was wrong, and I wouldn't let her bear the pain. I sighed inwardly. The plan I came up with was going to be painful and embarrassing for me, but it would help Naru, so I would do it. I gave her hand another squeeze. She looked at me nervously. I smiled back and whispered, "Sorry, Naru." She looked at me quizzically until I put my hand to her breast and gave it a firm squeeze. 

The effect was immediate. 

"Kyaahhh! Pervert!" Naru's fist connected with my head, flinging me into the wall. I crashed into it upside-down, and then slid to the floor. There I stood on my head with my neck slightly bent. It was rather uncomfortable, but I tolerated it. "No touching privileges!" 

I sighed. It was rather annoying when Naru still hit me, but lately, her attacks had been a lot less powerful and damaging. I guess that was her way of showing that she loved me. Considering it was Naru, that meant a lot. 

Unfortunately, my punishment was not over when Motoko, Su, and Sarah came after me. Now I love them, but after I took a hit for Naru, I was not going to let them hit me too. But since I didn't want hurt any of them in a fight, I did the only thing I could do. 

I ran. 

I flew out of the lobby like Tama-chan usually did from Su. And in my wake, following quickly after, were three girls, one of which probably wanted to destroy my ability to reproduce with that sharp weapon of hers. 

***** 

About twenty minutes and 240,000 yen worth of property damage later, the girls finally gave up the chase when I hid out in Haruka's teahouse. She understood why I did what I and led the girls onto a wild goose chase when they asked where I was. It's times like those when I really love my aunt. 

When it was all clear, I slipped inside the Inn and started studying for the exams in my room. But I couldn't really focus on my work. I sighed and closed my calculus book. I wasn't going to get far today. I looked out the window as I leaned back on my hands. I was so pretty looking outside. Just like Naru. 

I chuckled. I'm hopeless, aren't I? All I wanted was some chocolate from my girlfriend, and I ended up having to hide from three girls who are least four years younger than me. I sighed again and opened my book to try and study some more. 

It wasn't long before I heard a commotion coming from the vicinity of the stairs. Oh, god, I hoped it wasn't the girls! They were going to kill me! "Tama-chan! Stop right there, you little devil!" 

"Myuuhhhh?!" Wait, Tama-chan? 

That's when Naru came leaping into my room, tackling a flying Tama-chan to the ground. "Gotcha!" She cried. What the...? 

"What's going on?" I said. I was totally confused as to what had just occurred. "Naru, what are you doing?" 

"Ke-Keitaro?!" I guess she didn't know that Tama-chan had led her into my room. I noticed something lying on the ground. It was the package I saw Tama-chan carrying on her back. What was it? "Hmm? What's this, Tama-chan?" I said. 

"Ahh, Keitaro, that's..." 

I unwrapped and then opened the box. I was immediately sorry that I did. "Oh man, what the hell?!" It looked like someone had taken a teddy bear and dunked it into chocolate. The poor thing had an arm raised as if begging for help. "What is this? Is it some kind of Avant-Garde art?" Then I realized that it looked like a bear dunked in chocolate because it was in fact, a chocolate bear. 

"Oh, it's chocolate! I couldn't tell at first because of its weird shape. But then... that... means..." I turned around to see Naru holding a hammer above her head, ready to strike. I'd have to ask her about that later. 

"Naru!" I said excitedly. "Did you make this for me?!" I was so happy. She had made me a chocolate! But then, why did she look so nervous when she was asked where it was? Was she embarrassed or something? 

"N-no!" She stuttered. I could tell she was lying. I decided to find out why. 

"Then why...?" 

"B-because that one was just practice!" Practice? What the hell did she mean by practice? "I'll just get rid of this then!" She grabbed the box out of my hands and headed for the door. Oh no, I wasn't going to let her go that easily. 

"Hey, wait!" 

"No!" 

Okay, talking wouldn't work. Time for drastic measures. I got to my feet, ran over, and lightly tackled her. We both fell to the floor with a thump and a little scream from Naru. The box fell from her hands a few inches away. 

Naru punched me in the head. "What do you think you're doing you idiot?!" I had my arms around her waist, so I pulled her up to sit next to me. I sighed and tightened my hold on her. 

"Why don't you want to give your chocolate to me?" 

"Isn't it obvious?" Naru sniffled. She refused to look me in the eye as she looked down at the floor. "I totally suck at making cakes." I saw tears starting to gather. 

"And that means what to me?" I couldn't see where she was going with this. Then again, I was always slow on the uptake with most things. Problems usually had to come and smack me in the face to notice them. 

"Well, wouldn't you be disappointed if you got a crappy gift from your girlfriend when your other friends gave you much better ones?" I let out a breath of air I had been holding in. So that's what she was worried about" That wasn't much. It was time for me to soothe her fears. 

"Naru..." I gave her a squeeze, then lifted her up slightly and shifted her to my lap. She placed her head on my chest as I absently stroked her hair. "Why would you think that I would think that?" 

I heard Naru's muffled reply into my shirt. "Well... aren't you..." 

"Aren't I what?" 

"Disappointed." I felt her tiny hands grip at my shirts as she said those words. It's amazing that such hands that contained so much power now seemed to small, so fragile. She seemed so delicate now, like a little china doll. I almost never saw her like this. I sighed again and wrapped my arms around her as much as I could. I waned to protect her from the world and keep her safe. 

"Never." She stopped sniffling and looked at me with watery eyes. I smiled softly and nudged my nose next to hers, nuzzling it. "I could never be disappointed with you, Naru. Well, maybe a little with all of the bashings you give me." She smiled slightly and I put my lips on her cheek for a gentle kiss. 

"Naru, I love you. I don't care if you aren't a master pastry chef." She scowled at this remark and I smirked. "All I care about is that you actually tried to make me something. That's all I wanted: a chocolate from the person I love on Valentine's Day. All I ever wanted." The scowl disappeared and was replace with a smile. She took her hands off my chest and encircled them around me to pull me into a hug. 

I kissed her silky hair, breathing in her scent while rubbing my hands up and down her back. "Now," I said. "Are you going to let me taste it?" I didn't care if it tasted like garbage; I was going to eat that chocolate. 

Naru stiffened a bit in my arms. I kissed her neck tenderly and she calmed back down. "Are you sure?" She asked. Was she still nervous after all I had said? 

"Naru..." I kissed her neck a couple more times. She almost seemed to melt in my grasp. "I'm sure that it's just like your cooking: looks could be better, but tastes great. Remember your rice balls?" She giggled and I couldn't help but hug her even harder. 

"Keitaro," she yelped. "Not so tight!" 

"Why not?" I said, slightly disappointed. 

"Because then I can't get your chocolate." She looked up at me sweetly. I sighed. Her logic and her actions always got the best of me in any argument we ever had. I guess it's true that women always win the arguments between the opposite sexes. I let go and she moved off me to get the box. I sighed again and laid on my back. Naru came back over and surprised me when she crawled on top of me. She lied down on my stomach and kissed my cheek. "I never said I didn't want you to hold me." 

I grinned like a fool, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and moved to sit up. She stopped me by pushing and interlacing one of her hands with mine, the other holding the chocolate. She grinned evilly, and whispered into my ear, "I think you should stay like this if you want to stay alive. 

I didn't know whether to be nervous or aroused. Naru was seriously changing from the violent girl she once was. Granted, she was still violent, but she was getting gentler and sweeter as every day went by. I decided to take a chance with the problem. Using my superior weight, I flipped us around so that Naru was on the bottom and I was pinning her down, using my elbows as support. Naru looked at me surprised, but then she smiled wickedly. I think I was changing a lot too. I don't think my old, wimpy self would have ever even thought of doing something like this. 

"But, Naru," I grinned. "You said you wouldn't try to kill me anymore." She looked at me and tried a look that was halfway between a pout and a sexy smile. She put her arms around me and pulled me closer. I didn't know exactly what she was going to try (she was still so unpredictable,) but whatever it was, it was turning me on. What she did do next took me by surprise. 

She leaned up and began to gently nibble on my earlobe. I know it doesn't seem like much, but to me, it was... how should I put this... erotic. "Keitaro," she cooed. "I might not have said this before, but I do think you're really cute." I turned my head and cocked an eyebrow as if to say, "Really, now?" She looked up at me coyly, and then kissed the corner of my mouth. 

That was all the answer that I (not to mention my hormones) needed before I attacked her lips. I heard her moan into my mouth as I ravaged hers with my tongue. She started to whimper, so I transferred to her throat and sucked gently on it. Her hands moved up to grasp the back of my head, and she tangled her fingers in my hair. Something told me she was enjoying this. 

"Kei-ta-ro," she whispered. I opened my mouth wider as if I could devour her. God, I wanted her. Without thinking of the consequences, I moved my hand up to her breast and softly cupped it. She gasped and pushed me away, crossing her arms in front of her. I landed on my butt from her forceful shove and my body burned with embarrassment and fear. 

I was so ashamed of myself. I had tried to force myself onto her, no matter how small the offense was. I was turning into the pervert they were always accusing me of. Naru would hate me now. I hung my head and turned my back to Naru. "N-Naru," I said. "I can't express in words how sorry I am. I can't blame you if you hate me. I'm... sorry." 

I heard her get up and walk to the door. I winced. I knew she was going to tell the girls and then they really would kill me. But I wouldn't do anything. I deserved whatever they decided to dish out on me. 

I heard her slide the door shut. I closed my eyes and turned towards the door. Might as well face my execution head-on. I opened them again when I heard a noise. There was Naru, her arms crossed and staring at me intently. Of course, she wanted to punish me herself. 

"Okay, Naru," I sighed. "I'm all yours. I deserve any punishment you want. I did something horrible and I await your wrath." I closed my eyes and braced myself for death. Something told me even my immortality wouldn't save me now. 

I don't know exactly what happed, but the next thing I did know was that I was pushed on my back with Naru kissing me as hard as she could. Tears streamed down her face as she crushed lips against mine. 

"Naru, what...?" Was all I could mumble before she pulled me into another bruising kiss. I mentally sighed and fell into it. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Naru took her swollen lips off mine and dug her head into the crook of my neck. I felt her place butterfly kisses along it as she mumbled, "You little pervert." 

I sighed as I stroked her hair. "I am, aren't I?" I sighed unhappily. She might not hate me, but I was still ashamed with myself. I still couldn't believe that I had tried to grope her. I really was turning into the perverted landlord of a girl's dormitory. 

Naru nuzzled into me as she said, "Yes, you are. But I love you anyway." I smiled, as did she. 

"I'm sorry." 

"It's okay." Was it really? "It's just that..." I knew it. She didn't want me to touch her, at all. "I'm afraid of what might happen." That wasn't an answer I expected. 

"What might happen?" I was confused. What could possibly happen? 

"Keitaro..." She took my face into her hands. "As much as I might have told you otherwise, I really am very attracted to you." Huh? "And so, I'm afraid that when you touch me like this..." She took my hand and placed it on her shirt, right on her... breast. My pulse skyrocketed. "That I'm going to go even farther with you until we..." She trailed off. I stared at her in shock. She thought...?! 

"Y-y-you thought that we might...?!" My brain was in a jumble. To do that with Naru?! Sure I thought about it, dreamed about it even. But to actually go that far with her was as foreign as Jupiter or Mars to me. 

"Well..." she drew circles with her fingers on my chest. I stiffened slightly. Even though her actions were innocent enough, I couldn't help the change of direction for my blood flow. It was going to the part of my body that began this damned problem in the first place. Naru must have felt it because I saw panic rise in her eyes for a spilt-second before it was replaced with a determination to finish what she started. 

"I heard about how... people get lost in the moment... and then after that, they regret it and the relationship just falls apart." She gripped my shirt and pressed her forehead to mine. 'Keitaro... I love you too much to just have something happen that will break us apart. I do want to do that with you, I really do!" She gripped me even harder as she saw the small bit of doubt in my eyes. "I just don't think that either of us are ready yet." 

I sighed. "All right, I understand." I did, in truth, understand. There were just too many random things that could happen if we went that far. Naru could get pregnant or there could be an awkwardness between us that might never go away. Besides, we were still kind of young. 

Naru smiled. "Thank you,' she whispered as she kissed the corner of my mouth again. Then she slowly brushed her lips across mine until she rested on my bottom one. There, she began to suckle gently on it. I shivered at the sensations she gave me. I moved my hands to firmly hold her hips and gave them a tiny squeeze. 

Naru's hands moved along my arms to my hands. She lifted them off her hips and I was slightly disappointed until she put them on her very nice derriere. My eyes widened in shock. Naru opened hers, playfully bit my lip, and said slyly, "Your hands feel good where they are for once." Her voice lowered an octave. "Does it feel good to you?" 

I gave her rear a tentative squeeze. She whimpered softly and quickly pressed her lips to mine. I squeezed even harder. She pressed even firmer. I let go completely and she stopped altogether. She looked at me questioningly. I smiled and squeezed again. "I like it very much. Nice and firm." She smiled devilishly and attacked my lips. 

While kissing, Naru moved her hands into my shirt and drew aimless designs on my chest. I responded by gripping her rear as hard as I could and pressing her into me. She nearly moaned out my name and redoubled her efforts on my mouth. 

That's when my door burst open and the figures of the other six Hinata honeys stood in the doorframe. They gaped at the scene in front of them. Naru was lying on top of me, her hands in my shirt, and my hands tightly gripping her ass. Kitsune then grinned, Motoko's face darkened, Shinobu teared up, Mutsumi went, "Oh my," Su jumped up and down, and Sarah had a weird look on her face. 

"Eww, hanky panky be goin' on!" Su shouted. 

"Keitaro! Never knew you had it in you!" Said Kitsune, giving us a thumbs up. 

"That's just gross..." Muttered Sarah. 

"Oh my, oh my," whispered Mutsumi. 

"Sempai..." Whimpered Shinobu. 

"Urashima... !" Growled Motoko. 

And only two words were uttered from my lips. 

"Oh crap..." 

***** 

I regained consciousness about six hours later. There was no one in my room so I painfully crawled over to my emergency first-aid kit. Which, by the way, has become an essential staple for my life. I took out a couple of bandages and wrapped them around my many bodily injuries. 

"Ouch, oww, ooh..." 

My slight bursts of pain-ridden yelps went on for a little while until I covered ever bruise, cut, and scrape on me. I crawled back over to my desk that was flipped over during my earlier beating from mainly Motoko. Though Su and Sarah decided to join in on the fun too. I smiled slightly at the sight they had found and then grinned at the fact that I was actually doing that. I never knew Naru liked to take the _initiative_ like that. 

Speaking of Naru, I found her box with the chocolate in it on my futon. Half of the bear's up raised arm was gone, and I guessed that either Su or Sarah had done it during the commotion. I smirked at those two, and then broke off the rest of its arm. I put it into my mouth and carefully chewed it. 

Wow. I don't care what Naru said; this was some pretty damn good chocolate. Sure it wasn't the best in the world, though I wasn't going to tell her that. Still, it was very good. I should know because my parents owned a pretty famous sweets-shop and I'm versed in the area of sweet stuff. 

Sticking from underneath the bear was a corner of white paper. I tugged it from under the bear and was barely able to read the note with the chocolate smudges all over it. It said, "To Kei, love Naru." I smirked at the pet name she had given me after I told her about how she used to call me Kei-kun when we were kids last Christmas. It was sort of childish, but I liked it anyways. Finally happy, I went back to studying. 

When I was called down for dinner, I decided to stay upstairs and skip it. I'd rather not meet all of the girls so soon after my provocative scene with Naru. Knowing them, the two of us would probably be heckled until either Naru blew her top or I'd do something extremely stupid. I don't think I need to go into details on what would happen after that. My stomach cursed me again and again for missing Shinobu's cooking, but I ignored it. I'd rather be hungry than bruised. 

After I studied for a while, I heard a knock from outside my door. "Come in," I said. It slid open and there was Naru holding a tray with food and tea on it. "Hi." She said hi back and walked in. She placed the food on my table and sat opposite of me. We didn't talk much as I ate quietly. 

Finally, she spoke. "I'm sorry." 

I took a sip of my tea. "For what?" 

"For doing..." Was she apologizing for the initiative she took? That wasn't the Naru I knew. 

I told her so. "Naru, what happened to you? You're apologizing too much." 

She stared at me. "What do you mean?" 

I sighed and moved over to her. I put my arm around her shoulder and she leaned into me. "Naru, I fell in love with the hot-headed girl who never, _ever_ apologized. What happened? You're acting kind of... meek." 

I felt her bristle. Well, I did imply I didn't want her so meek. She looked at me and I saw the fire in her eyes. "So I'm meek am I?" She wound back her fist. "Then I won't have to apologize for this!" With that, Naru climbed into my lap, wound her legs around my waist and pulled me into a bear hug. My back arched backwards as I felt the bones inside of it crackle. I just simply closed my eyes as Naru hugged me tighter with both her arms and legs. I guess you could say that we were in a contest to see who could last longer, me and my pain, or Naru and her stamina. Finally, I let out a sound halfway between a yelp and groan. Naru loosened her grip and pulled me into a gentle embrace. She buried her head into my chest and I felt her hands disengage themselves to hold my shoulders. 

"Now, she breathed. "You're going to put your hands back where they were before, and you're going to keep them there until I say otherwise. And if you don't..." She squeezed harder to prove her point. I gulped and nodded my agreement. I moved my hands down and cupped her cheeks. She smiled slightly and moved her lips to kiss my throat. 

We stayed there a while, Naru kissing me tenderly, her eyes full of mischief and love. I sighed and moved my hands back up. She pinched me to get me to go back, so I did, sort of. I slid my hands into her shirt and moved them up till I met a piece of cloth which had to be her bra. I realized that I was at her clasp. One snap and... no. If I did that, it definitely wouldn't end well. Meanwhile, I felt her hold her breath and I smiled, kissed her forehead and moved my hands between her and her bra. She hissed out her air and moved back to my throat. I gently rubbed my hands up and down her smooth back, and it must have been affecting her greatly because her breathing was getting shorter and faster. 

I realized that if I didn't stop we probably would be in the same situation as we were before so I reluctantly removed my hands from her shirt. Naru whimpered with a hurt tone until I put one hand under her rear and cupped her chin with the other one. I squeezed with one hand and brought her face to mine with the other. I pressed my lips to and stuck my tongue into her mouth. She reciprocated by gently sucking on it. God, she tasted sweet. Sweeter than chocolate. 

Breaking from her, I said, "You know, I ate some of your chocolate." She stiffened slightly. I squeezed my lower region hand. She relaxed. "It was very good." She grinned and leaned forward. "But there is something sweeter than it." She stopped. I grinned and whispered, "You. You're so very sweet. Good enough to eat," before I closed the distance to devour her from the inside out. She only moaned in return. 

Shortly after, Haruka's voice was heard in Naru's room calling for her. She sighed and moved off of me with one last, quick peck. As she started to climb back into the hole connecting our rooms, I decided to go for broke and goosed her. She yelped softly and gave me a thwack on the head before disappearing. 

I grinned and rubbed at the rather nice lump she had given me. Good thing the old Naru didn't totally disappear. After all, I fell in love with the girl and all of her faults along with her strengths. Those were the things that made her uniquely Naru. I let out a chuckle and moved back to study again. Funny how studying had led me to those two little, nice trysts. 

When it had gotten dark out I began to hear noise from the room above me. It sounded like giggles, laughs and yelling. Then there came a gigantic crash. What the hell? I got onto my table and pushed the plywood covering the hole up. There I saw Mutsumi holding Naru in a headlock and both of them were in hysterics. They were both wearing their pajamas and rolling all around the floor. 

"What's all the noise about?" I asked. 

Naru looked angry and embarrassed. "Keitaro, get out before I nail that shut!" 

I smirked. "I know you wouldn't." 

Naru frowned, but I saw the glimmer in her eyes. She knew that if she did, she wouldn't be able to come into my room or visa versa without everyone in Hinata House knowing of it. "Fine, but peeping toms aren't allowed," she said, sticking her tongue out at me. 

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Mutsumi joked. 

"Yeah, it is." I yawned for effect. They giggled as I played along. "But I need to study, so keep the noise down if you could." I paused. "Wasn't there someone yelling rape before? There something between you two that I should know about?" I put on the most innocent face I could muster while laughing internally as the two broke out into furious blushes. "No? Okay. Good night, girls." I kept my laughter in until I got back into my room safely where I rolled on the floor, clutching my sides with silent laughter. Then I heard the girls breaking into laughter upstairs. I smiles. 

But it was back to studying for me. I did several more practice exam booklet, and then decided to go to bed. I started to get into my pajamas, but before I could put the bottom part on, something collided with my head and knocked me unconscious. 

***** 

The next morning I woke up peacefully enough. It was a beautiful morning outside as I yawned and stretched my tired limbs. "Man, I slept like a log last night." I scratched at a lump on my head, but I couldn't remember what caused it. Oh well, it was probably from one of the beatings I got yesterday. Then I noticed a large object lying next to me. 

"Huh? Did Liddo-kun fall into my room?" But... it was warm. Wait! Stuffed animals aren't warm! Was it Su? She always needed someone to sleep with, but Motoko was here so she wouldn't go to me. Maybe it was Naru! She did get pretty warm towards me lately, so maybe she wanted to go a little farther... I prayed that maybe it was and lifter the corner of the futon up. 

It was Mutsumi. 

And she was totally naked. 

A/N: Well, I'm done the second chapter. It's a cliffie, ain't it? I'm so bad... In case you haven't noticed, I'm doing it almost by each chapter of the manga so you know what's going to happen next, right? Maybe not... heh, heh. Anyway, the next chapter I introduce the two new minor characters. People, I'll only say this once: I can't model them after you guys because they are Keitaro. They are different sections of his mind that I have shown sort of physically. Anyway, I'll get back to that **and** the other character after this short interview. 

Keitaro: Oh my dear God, how could you leave me in that situation?! 

Me: Hey, I can't help. The next chapter is an important point of the series. Oh, and just a heads up, there's going to be some self-mutilation tendencies for you. _(shrugs)_ Sorry... 

Keitaro: Self mutilation?! It's bad enough that Mutsumi's in my bed, but you're going to have me harm myself too?! 

Me: Ehh, don't worry. It turns out just fine. But just to make sure that you don't kill me... 

_An electronic display much like the one that Washu in Tenchi Muyo has appears at my fingertips. I type in a couple commands and a capsule appears out of nowhere and traps Keitaro inside of it._

Keitaro: _(bangs on the side)_ What the hell are you doing?! 

Me: Just going to erase your memory of this incident. 

Keitaro: What?! _(burst of light goes through the capsule and Keitaro slumps to the ground unconscious)_

Me: _(sighs)_ I really hate doing this, but it had to be done. 'Kay, time for the others to pick him up. _(types some more commands) _

The other Hinata crew members are teleported into the room. Naru notices Keitaro's limp body and rushes over to him. 

Naru: Keitaro! Are you all right?! 

Keitaro: Ehh...? _(shakes head groggily)_ What happened? 

Me: Sorry, man. Typed in wrong commands and knocked you out. 

Keitaro: It's okay. Not like I'm not used to being knocked unconscious. 

Me: Sorry anyway. In any case... _(turns to the girls)_ Glad you girls could learn to respect others' privacy. 

Su: Still, Yamiga... that was mean. 

Me: Sorry, Su. _(pats her on the head)_ But now you know how Keitaro feels. Anyway, I'll let you guys in next time if you **promise** to behave. Deal? 

Hinata crew: Deal! 

Kitsune: By the way, where'd gloworm16 go? I was starting to like that kid. 

Me: Eh, he got bored and went off somewhere or other. Plus, he got too lazy to read my story so I fired him. 

Kitsune: Oh. 

Me: Anyway... you guys want the honors? 

Hinata crew: _(shake heads)_ Please Review! 

A/N: Ok, now that that's done, I can go back to the characters. The two parts of Keitaro are his sub-conscious and warning system. You'll see what I mean in the next chapter. They actually do interact with Keitaro within himself. It's pretty funny. And the other character. You know how the party Keitaro went with was composed of him, Seta, and five other people? Well, the other person is one of those five people. I decided that he'd become friends with Keitaro in America and then come back with him to Hinata House to add some extra fun. That sound good to you? Okay then. Anyway, please review, and remember, no flames! 

_Preview!!! _

Next Chapter: Waking up Next to... Mutsumi?! 

How could she? How could she even think that I would do something like that? The negative emotions boiling over in me warped my already completely messed up mind even further. I started to fall into depression, and my body language reflected it. My eyes darkened to an almost ebony black, my body slumped over as I held my head in my hands. My entire body began to quiver as though it would fly apart and I talked in a shaking voice... 


	3. Waking Up Next to Mutsumi?

A/N: Hey people! Sorry I'm so late-WAAHHH!! _(dodges various heavy objects thrown by angry reviewers)_ Stop that! Geez, I'm sorry but I had a lot going on this week like a bunch of tests at school and stuff. Oh not to mention PSATs. I swear, those things sometime seem harder than the actual thing. Anyway, here's the third chapter. Will we ever figure out how Mutsumi got into Keitaro's room? Will Keitaro die from the experience? Will I ever stop rambling? Find out now! Oh, but first a statement for my reviewers. 

**Nutty Al:** hey, thanks for the review! Of course Naru will get pissed off, that's just her! But the question really is, by how much will she get pissed off? 

**A.C.C.:** thank you! I love your review! It's so nice! Sniff... I think I'm going to cry 

**Turtle Lady:** thank you for the review! And yes, a lot of my chapters end with cliffhangers because that's just the way they ended. Oh well... I like the drama too and there will be a whole lot of different genres mixed in later in the story, but it's mostly just a romantic comedy 

**Android K:** yo Android! How you doing?! Thank you so much for the review and for helping me! I really appreciate it! And I should have sent what you wanted to know. If I didn't, tell me, and I'll punish myself for being an idiot! 

**Drake Dragon:** helloooo, my reviewer! I appreciate that you still bother giving me reviews. You're so nice... I'm really happy 

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you. I will as soon as possible 

**K34:** I'm not even going to ask how you got in that situation... well, maybe if you felt like it. Heh... just kidding. And don't worry about ramblings, ramblings are good for everyone. Rambling rambles on about things that can... _(Yamiga promptly falls over asleep)_ Snnxxx... Huh? Oh, sorry. Thank you for the review 

**John McCoy:** thank you for your review! It's nice! In fact, everything's nice! I like nice things! Maybe I'll include you in a sequel to this I'm already thinking up, but that's not for a while, so you'll just have to wait... heh 

**jennyjennai:** you're right, Keitaro is always in trouble! But if it wasn't for that, the series would be very boring, neh? thanks 

**Shadowed-Moon2525:** thank you for the review! And I read your first chapter. It was actually very good! Sure there were a couple grammatical errors, but I can't complain. I've got four people checking over my mistakes, ha! Anyway, hope you write another chapter soon 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 3: Waking Up Next to... Mutsumi?! **

_It was a beautiful morning outside as I yawned and stretched my tired limbs. "Man, I slept like a log last night." I scratched at a lump on my head, but I couldn't remember what caused it. Oh well, it was probably from one of the beatings I got yesterday. Then I noticed a large object lying next to me. _

"Huh? Did Liddo-kun fall into my room?" But... it was warm. Wait! Stuffed animals aren't warm! Was it Su? She always needed someone to sleep with, but Motoko was here so she wouldn't go to me. Maybe it was Naru! She did get pretty warm towards me lately, so maybe she wanted to go a little farther... I prayed that maybe it was and lifter the corner of the futon up. 

It was Mutsumi. 

And she was totally naked. 

What was Mutsumi doing in my futon with me?! Better yet, what was she doing in room at all?! And she didn't have a stitch of clothing on! I could see everything! Everything... Ah, no! Bad Keitaro! I mentally slapped myself. Then the entire situation overtook me, and my brain short-circuited. My instincts took control and I did the first thing that came to mind. I screamed. 

"HOLY SHIIITTT!!!" 

Maybe that wasn't the smartest thing I could have done, but give me a break. I had a beautiful naked woman, who was not my girlfriend, sleeping in the same futon as me, and I couldn't remember how she got there. 

Then I heard Naru's voice from above me. "Keitaro, it's too early for your crap..." She froze as Mutsumi sat up and pulled the blanket over her breasts. "W-wha...?" Her mouth gaped open at the scene. I then felt a breeze and looked down to see that I wasn't wearing my pajama bottoms. Oh yes... I was going to die. 

Mutsumi sleepily raised her hand in greeting. "Ah, good morning. Hey, where are my clothes? Oh, dear..." I just turned to stone in front of them. My body cracked and the hand that had lifted the futon cover broke off. 

"Kei... Kei..." Naru tried to talk, but kept on stopping. Time stood still in my room until my door, for the second time in 24 hours, were flung open and the rest of the tenants stood in its wake. 

"Hey, Keitaro! You die or somethin'?" Kitsune said. 

Urashima! You will pay for interrupting my training!" Motoko shouted. 

They froze as they saw what was going on. Naru with her head sticking out of the hole, me and Mutsumi in the same futon, me without pants and Mutsumi with nothing on whatsoever. Needless to say, the sight was rather... condemning. 

"Kei..." 

"Mut..." 

"Eww, kinky." 

Everyone was simply frozen as Mutsumi took my blanket and wrapped at around her body. "Oh me, oh my. Oh dear, oh dear." She moved across the room and slightly out the door. We all looked at her as she partly hid herself from sight. "I... I seem to have lost my clothes somewhere. Oh, Urashima?" My head cricked slowly and loudly towards the sound of her voice. "Lat night... was a bit painful." 

My eyes bugged out, my mouth dropped, and my brain went into red alert. [WARNING! WARNING! SENSORY OVERLOAD! BRAIN MUST SHUT DOWN! ALL PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE! REPEAT! ALL PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE!] My overheated brain shut down all unnecessary functions. I fainted before my head hit the pillow. 

***** 

I regained awareness of my surroundings when someone dumped a bucket of cold water on me. I yelped as the freezing cold touched my bare skin and created goosebumps. I blearily opened my eyes to see what was going on. All I saw were blurry shapes. Of course, I hadn't put my contacts back in after I took them out last night. Wait... last night... Something about last night... My head began to throb and a memory was becoming clearer until someone whapped my head and it dispelled like smoke. 

"Oww! What the hell was that?" My vision was fine again and I realized that someone must have slapped my old glasses on my face quite harder than necessary. When I realized where I was, I sweatdropped. I was tied up and hanging in front of a podium not much unlike the ones you see in court. There, in front of me, was Kitsune in an expensive-looking business suit. She was holding herself like a lawyer, holding her hands behind her back. "Umm... what's going on?" 

"That's quite easy," Kitsune said grimly. "We're having your trial, Mr. Urashima." Mr. Urashima? When the hell did Kitsune ever call me by my last name? I was starting to get less confused and more nervous by the second. 

"Kitsune," I said nervously. "What do you mean? What trial?" 

"That's Prosecutor Konno to you, you slime!" Okay, now I was in serious trouble. Kitsune's never, in the time that I have known her, ever cursed anyone off. No matter what, she had never lost her cool and let her emotions get the best of her. She was seriously pissed off. "Now, are you going to plea guilty or not?" 

"Guilty? On what charges?" This was past weird and into psychotic. 

Kitsune held up one finger. "One, as our manager, you have a responsibility to us, your residents, to explain your actions last night." She held up another one. "Two, you have a responsibility to Mutsumi's stolen chastity." She held up a third finger. "Three, you have a responsibility for shattering my best friend's heart, you son of a bitch." Then all of her fingers came up, and her palm smashed into my face as a hard slap. 

I was shocked. It hurt. It wasn't the actual pain, no, that I was used to. It was the person _who_ hit me that hurt. Kitsune, the playful, mischievous fox of Hinata House, had actually slapped me to cause me harm. 

"Do you know what it was like to hold my best friend in my arms while she bawled like a baby? She hadn't cried that much since Seta first left." I winced. The fact that Naru used to have giant crush on seta didn't exactly help the matters at hand. "And you're the one who made her cry, Keitaro. You. The one who promised he would never harm any of us." 

I winced inwardly again. I had said that that I would never harm any of them intentionally. And yet here I was, hurting all of them, especially the person I loved more than anything else in the whole world, over something I could not even remember doing. 

I tried to speak. "Kit... Prosecutor Konno, I can't plea guilty to something I don't even remember doing." 

Kitsune nodded. "Fine. Then we will simply find you guilty and push forward your execution." 

"Execution?! Wait, you can't... !" 

"Urashima, your actions are unforgivable." My brain froze in horror as I turned to see Motoko holding her katana at me. "The time has finally come for me to strike you down once and for all. I have never been happier than at this moment." 

"Motoko!" I was scared shitless, but I knew for a fact that I could not have done what they accused me of. All I did the night before was study and go to sleep. I didn't remember Mutsumi ever coming into my room. What did I do, have sex in my sleep? "I swear on my mother's grave that I'm innocent!" 

"But your mother is not dead!" 

"God damn it, you bitch! That's not the fucking point!" Motoko froze and so did Kitsune. I heard a whimper and I turned to also see Shinobu, Sarah, Su, and Naru standing near the couch beside me. I guess they were surprised, scared or even horrified. They only saw me get pissed off like this once last Christmas, and then I didn't even curse. Oh well, might as well give them a good show. I was seriously pissed off. 

"Surprised?" I spat out. "You shouldn't be. What do you expect when you tie a person up and accuse him of having sex with someone in the room below the person he loves sleeps? Of course I would be pissed off. I don't deserve the shit you give to me everyday, and now you accuse me of this?" 

I slowly shifted my body arrangement so that I could try to wiggle out. Oh crap, I always hated this part. I twisted my shoulder and all of the girls heard snapping as my arm popped out of its socket. They looked horrified as my arm hung lifelessly to the side while I fell out of the ropes binding me. I stood back up, jamming my arm back into its socket with a pop. 

"Damn," I muttered. "I haven't done that for a long time." I looked at the girls. They all took a step back. "Surprised? Scared? Grossed out beyond belief?" I took another step towards them as they back away. A wicked, but painful idea came to my mind and I grinned evilly. Might as well have some fun with their disgust. 

Twisting my other shoulder, it fell out with a sickening crack. I took my leg, placed it between the couch's legs, and gave it a sharp twist. Every joint along my leg dislocated and it was totally twisted around, the foot facing backwards. I winced. Ouch, it was beginning to get painful. Maybe I had gone a little bit too far in my demonstration. 

I hobbled slightly over to them. "Strange ability, huh? You see, the Urashima, for some strange reason, have very a lot skill when it comes to rope attacks. Learning to dislocate body parts is a very useful skill for escaping them." Pain shot through my arm and leg. I winced again and half-fell to the ground. I landed on my bad arm and felt it go slightly numb. Crap, that wasn't good. 

"Ouch." I rolled over, took my dislocated arm and put it back in it place by ramming it into the floor. I pushed myself back up onto my good foot. I took my leg in both of my hands and twisted it back into place. It was rather sore. Of course, that's probably because I hadn't purposefully dislocated anything for six years. 

"Well, now that I've properly freaked you all out, perhaps you'll listen to me." I stared at them expectantly. Would they listen to what I had to say? They nodded dumbly. At least half the battle was over now. Now all I had to do was convince them that I did not do what they accused me of doing. I mentally tripped. Oh crap, what was I going to say?! I took a deep breath and tried to begin. 

"Okay, now in my defense, _Prosecutor Konno_..." I looked at her saw that her eyes flinched when I emotionlessly called her by her formal name. She probably didn't expect me to take her wanting to call her formally so seriously. She probably expected me to keep calling her by her usual name so as to try to trap me in a false air of friendliness. "First, haven't you ever heard of the saying, "Innocent until proven guilty?" No, I guess you wouldn't considering you always punish me before I have a chance to explain myself." 

I smirked inwardly. Oh yes, they were definitely the bunch of vigilantes, taking the law into their own hands. You know, they could probably fight crime with their tactics. I barely restrained my laughter as I imagined them in power-ranger-like uniforms. It was a pretty funny image. 

"Okay, now even I have to admit that the scene was kind of implying, but the problem is that I don't even know how it happened. I don't even know how Mutsumi got into my room in the first place." 

At this, my head began to throb again. God, this was starting to get annoying! My head hurt like hell and I couldn't figure out why. My other injuries by the girls usually were numbed from the pain by now. So why did my head hurt so fucking much?! Something about last night, but what?! Argh! Okay, I've got to calm down or I'll blow it. But it was too late. My mind was already on the way to self-destruction. It was stretched out so tautly that it could begin snapping at any moment. 

I took a deep breath. "All I remember doing is studying then getting ready for bed. The next thing I know is that it's morning and I've got a naked Mutsumi next to me. I couldn't have passed out from drinking because the only one that does that is Prosecutor Konno over there." I jerked my thumb at her. "So we can cancel out the possibility of doing it in a drunken state." 

I looked over at Kitsune. She flinched as I cased her body. My mind finally snapped as I saw her try to keep her formal position. "And for the love of God, Kitsune! Will you please get out of that retarded suit?! You're only making me more infuriated by trying to act so seriously! It just isn't you!" I turned to Motoko to see that she still had her katana bared at me. 

Another part of my stretched-out mind snapped. I glared at her menacingly. I saw a little fear in her eyes, and a small part in the back of my mind cheered at her fright. I was disgusted by this feeling, but continued on anyway. "And I swear this to you, Motoko. If you even think of using that katana on me, I will take the blade between my hands and snap it in two. And you know I can do it, too." 

I looked at Shinobu, Sarah, and Su. Three more snaps to my already warped mind. "And if you three think I would something as heartless as this, you don't know me at all." All three looked scared and Shinobu's eyes began to gather tears. Another broken string. "Don't you dare cry, Shinobu. Don't... you... dare." I almost growled. At this, even Su and Sarah began to become watery. I must have been horrifying if these two were scared, but my raging mind did not care at all of what they were feeling. I just wanted to yell, to scream, to... harm. 

My eyes moved to Naru. I saw the hurt, the sadness, the lost of being in her eyes. The last stable part of my mind twanged once, twice, and spilt. It fell into the swirling mass of negative emotions in the bottom of my mind. Rage, depression, loathing, hatred, fury. They boiled over in me, and I saw every dark color imaginable. 

How could she? How could she even think that I would do something like that? The negative emotions boiling over in me warped my already completely messed up mind even further. I fell even farther into my depression, and my body language reflected it. My eyes darkened to an almost ebony black, my body slumped over as I held my head in my hands. My entire body quivered as though it would fly apart and I talked in a shaking voice. 

"And you, Naru. If you would think that I could do something like that to you, then why did you ever fall in love with me? Because even if you don't think so, I love you, Naru. I love your mind. I love your body. I love everything about you. I even love the fact that you beat me when I'm in an awkward position because it means you care enough about me to get angry. I love you, Naru, plain and simple. And I hope I always will." 

My soul wavered on the edge of nothingness, so close to falling into the void, into the darkness slowly consuming every part of me. And the fact that something horrible was about to happen did not help matters. 

While in the silence permeating the room, Mutsumi obliviously walked in. I watched her, and the tiny, tiny part of my mind that wasn't screwed up laughed at the way she gaily moved in such a depressing atmosphere. "Um... Urashima? Do... do you have a moment?" 

I turned my almost lifeless eyes to her. "Mutsumi... you're here..." I giggled slightly. Yes, Mutsumi was here. She could tell what had happened. "Please, can you tell everyone what really happened last night?" 

"Oh... I... I'm sorry, but... Urashima... Narusegawa..." She put her hands in her face and blushed embarrassingly. What could she be so happy about? "M... my... my test came back positive." 

That one little statement blew me out of the water. My rage and depression drained away from my body, leaving only a void. My soul had finally fallen into the black hole that was consuming it. I swear that if you could have seen my eyes.. They lost all shine and became black orbs of darkness. If you had looked into them, you would have seen that my soul was completely missing. 

All I could hear was Mutsumi's statement repeating itself. "My test came back positive... My test came back positive..." It drilled itself into my mind, searing itself into the very wrinkles of my brain. It pounded on my ears, letting me here nothing else. I even saw Mutsumi in the exact same position, repeating herself over... and over... and over again. 

I didn't even notice that Naru had walked over to my side. I barely even noticed when she slapped me right across the face. "You bastard," she whispered. I put my hand up to where she had slapped me. It burned and felt numb at the same time, like if you stay out on a cold, windy day for too long. 

I stared at her and smiled. She backed away as she saw the emptiness I projected from that void of a smile. "Yes I am." I smiled again and looked at the fist I had made in front of my face. "Yes I am," I giggled crazily. My next action surprised even me. 

I took my fist, moved it far away as I could from myself, and then smashed it into my face. The cartilage in my nose rubbed painfully into each other and I felt a trickle of liquid fall from my nostrils. I wiped underneath my nose and saw quite an amount of blood on my hand. "Oh my," I giggled. "I seem to be bleeding." Blood. It seemed so good to look at. I wanted to see more. I wanted more blood, more pain, anything to fill that bottomless hole that was my soul. 

"Blood," I giggled harshly. "Bloody, bloody, blood, blood." I looked at Motoko. She flinched at my gaze. "Motoko... give me... I want your... give me your katana," I whispered hoarsely. 

"Urashima?" She gasped back. 

"Give it to me." 

"Why?" 

"Because..." Because I wanted to see blood, to feel pain. I wanted something to prove that whatever was happening was real and not a dream, or in my case, a nightmare. But since I could never hurt any of the girls for my own selfish desires, I need to hurt myself. I... needed to bleed. "I want to bleed, Motoko. I want to cause myself so much pain, it hurts just to realize that I'm alive. Give me your katana, Motoko, and let me bleed. Let me bleed myself dry." 

Yes... that's what I wanted to do. Like the leaches of medieval times, I wanted to bleed all impurities out of my body. But since I had to be the most impure person on Earth, I would have to drain myself of everything. Everything, until I was nothing more than a husk. 

"Urashima?" 

My eyes moved to Motoko. She was strangely out of focus. My deranged mind didn't even register that she was looking at me with a worried at concerned look. After all, my reasoned, why would she? I was the most horrible person on Earth. My lightless eyes bore into her as I said, "Isn't that what you want, Motoko? Haven't you always wanted to strike down the evil that plagues you all?" 

I stared down at my hands. The blood from my nose had caked them, creating a reddish-brown layer of crust. I marveled at how amazingly beautiful ye horrifyingly grotesque it was. "Yes, I am slime. I am a son of a bitch. I am a bastard. And I am definitely a pervert. So let me punish myself. Let me end my worthless existence and rid you all of this horrible plague that harms you all." 

"My statement shocked them all. "But, Keitaro..." Naru moved closer to me. "That doesn't mean we want you to die." 

I looked at her. Her eyes had lost the sadness and in its place was... pity? Why pity? "Is that true, Naru? Aren't you all telling me to, "Die Pervert!" all the time?" Her eyes flinched. "So let me do it for you. Let me die, and make us all much happier." 

I couldn't take it anymore. This void in my heart was crying out for sweet oblivion. I wanted to end it all, to just end it. They would all be much happier if they didn't have the scum of the world living with them, right? Right? Of course. In a spilt-second, I ran from Naru's gaze to Motoko, grabbed her katana, and sped out the door. They were all frozen from my actions as they watched me run away with the katana clutched in my hands. 

I ran. I ran from everything that was dear to me in that dormitory. I ran and ran and my heart couldn't take it anymore. I cried. I felt the tears flow down my face like a waterfall as I ran away from my friends, my home, and the one I loved and betrayed. 

***** 

She found me crying underneath a tree. The katana was carelessly thrown a few feet away, its blade up to the hilt in the ground. There was no blood on it. When I got there, I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't end my life. Instead of shedding blood, I shed tears. Gallons upon gallons of tears. I so wanted to stop the suffering of the girls, but a small part of my mind kept telling me not to do it this way. 

It said that even though I might end one of their sufferings, I'd cause another. Didn't I even think that my death would cause them sadness? Of course it would. Even if I made them miserable, they still cared enough for me to feel horrible if I died for their sake. I laughed sadly. No matter what choice I made, I would always make them sad. I continued to wallow in my misery and self-loathing. 

Then I felt two arms circle around my neck and a weight press against my back. I lifted my head from my knees and tried to turn around. "Wha-?" I stopped when I felt someone put their lips to my neck for a gentle kiss and said, "Shhh..." I calmed down when that same person put their cheek against mine and began to nuzzle me. "Who's that?" I croaked. "Naru?" 

"Shhh... it's okay." Naru whispered. She pulled back and tugged my head with her hands as she pillowed it on her breasts. "It's okay, Kei. Everything is okay." She brushed the bangs out of my eyes and softly caressed my face. Why was she being so nice? I just had sex with her in the room beneath her, and on top of that, that same woman was pregnant! 

I looked up at her kind face and I couldn't help but begin to cry again. "How can you say that?" I sobbed. "How can you still not hate me and still call me by that name?" I couldn't stop the flow of tears. Why? Why was she still near me? Why wasn't she cursing my very existence? "How-" 

She stopped my questions by firmly pressing her lips to mine. I kept sobbing, but I held on to her lie my life depended on it. She stopped the kiss and dropped one last butterfly kiss on my lips before leaning back and smiling at me. She looked into my watery eyes as she held my face in both of her hands. "Because... I love you, Kei." 

"Because I love you, Kei." Those words kept circling around in my head, a light shining through the darkness clouding my heart. But doubt kept creeping into my mind. How could she still love me? What did I ever do to deserve that? "How can you? How can you possibly love something like me?" I wanted to know, wanted to know why she loved me after all this. 

"I-I... I don't know how I still do. I just know that I do. I know that I love you, Keitaro." She smiled sadly. "You don't know how sad I was when I saw you and Mutsumi together. I thought someone had ripped a gaping hole in my heart." 

I flinched. "I sorry, Naru. I-" She stopped me by kissing me again. This time, when she stopped, she moved away and pushed me down. Like the day before, she crawled on top of me and lied on my stomach. She circled her arms around my neck and pulled herself up to my face. Once again, she put her mouth to my bottom lip and suckled on it. I shivered at the sensations this woman who was lying on top of me was giving me. Her touch was bringing me out of my depressed state of mind. 

Heartened by my relaxing state, Naru tried harder to get me to respond. She nipped my lip playfully then moved to my chin. She place a kiss there, and then began to slowly and sensually brush her lips along my jawbone line to my earlobe. She began to lightly suck on it and I couldn't help but put my arms around her and hug her to me. I wanted to accept her tender advances. I so wanted to just lose myself in her body, her touch. But I knew I couldn't. 

I lifted her head and looked at her. There was love radiating from her eyes, but why? Why was an emotion I would never tire of seeing in the eyes of the woman I betrayed? I just couldn't take it. "Naru," I said. "We can't do this." 

"Why not?" 

"Why...?" She was asking why I couldn't be with her. So close after I was found with another woman? "Because of me... and Mutsumi... And now she's... pregnant..." I looked down shamefully. 

"Keitaro..." I looked at her. A soft smile adorned her beautiful face. "It's okay. You and Mutsumi didn't do... this." She illustrated her point, pressing her body against mine. Despite my depression, I could feel a blush spreading across my face. She giggled and pressed even more. Her soft body molded to me like a glove and it felt wonderful. Was this what "that" felt like? That though rocked me back to reality. 

"But... she was in my bed, naked. And I can't remember how she got there..." There was hope shining in me, but I still wanted to make sure. I wanted to be told by the one I though I had betrayed to tell me that everything was all right. 

"Oh, that..." Oh, that?! "Well, I'll tell you..." A grin spread across her face not much unlike Kitsune's. She giggled sweetly and moved her mouth back to my ear. She blew on it and whispered, "But only if you _touch_ me." She lowered her lips and started to nibble at my earlobe. "Mmm... please?" She murmured as she snuggled into my body. 

Well, she certainly got me out of my depressed state. Whatever happened couldn't have been too bad if she was making the moves on me like this. I slowly moved one of hands from its position on her waist to lightly place it on her rear. She almost purred in contentment. Did she really like it that much? "Okay... now will you tell me?" 

"Mmm, squeeze..." I did so. This time she definitely did purr. I could hear the rough sound emanating from her throat into my ear. "To put it simply, Mutsumi sleepwalks." I looked at her. She merely giggled and moved her head underneath my chin where she nuzzled into the crook of my throat. "After you ran off..." I winced. She noticed and snuggled closer. "After you ran off, I did so too and met Haruka. She said that Mutsumi's got really bad sleeping habits. She wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and ends up falling down stairs or peeing on the floor or getting hit by cars... you get the point." 

I nodded. Yeah, that sounded just like Mutsumi. But what did Mutsumi's sleepwalking have to do with her getting into my room? I took my hand off of her rear and moved to stroke at her hair absently. I could feel her smile as she tightened her hold around my neck. "So... how'd she get into my room?" 

"Umm..." She giggled. "It could have to do with the fact that there's a hole in my floor." 

"Oh." The hole. Of course... 

"Yes, oh." She lifted her head and looked at me. "You're such a silly boy, Kei." 

I lifted an eyebrow. With those simple acts of love and explanations, Naru had brought me out of the void that was once me. She had made me happy to be alive again. "Silly boy? Is that finally going to replace my original name of pervert?" 

She grinned. "Maybe." She pressed into my body and I felt a certain appendage of mine stiffen. Her eyes widened and she grinned even more. "Ooooh..." She lowered her lips to mine. "Especially if you'll react like that... silly boy," she breathed. 

I smirked. "You are definitely the woman I fell in love with, albeit your sex drive is ten times more than I think you want it to be." I moved my hand down to her rear again, but this time I slid it into her skirt, feeling her silken panties. 

"Oh my..." 

I tilted my head. "You know, you sounded like Mutsumi for a sec there." Naru froze. Embarrassment was clearly shown in her eyes. Her face was almost as dark as a cherry. "What's wrong?" 

"Oh... my..." 

Naru grinned nervously. "Uh... I forgot the others were helping me to look for you when I asked them to." Wait... if the other girls were helping her, and I thought I heard Mutsumi, did that mean...? 

"Oh..." 

I turned my head to see Mutsumi with a hand to her mouth, her eyes opened wide and her totally speechless. I looked at Naru and mine's position. She was lying on top of me with my hand stuck in her skirt clutching at her panties. My brain decided to go into red alert again. [WARNING! WARNING! HOSTILE FORCE IMMINENT! TAKE EVASIVE MANEUVER... ] My mind went off red alert completely. A chibi version of me was standing bedside my brain, holding an electric plug. 

'Who are you?!' I mentally yelled at my chibi self. 

It shrugged. 'Guess you could call me your sub-conscious.' 

I blinked. 'Okay... Now what are you doing?' 

Thought that was obvious,' it replied. I blinked again and it bonked me on the head. 'I was stopping you from doing something stupid.' 

'By turning off my panic system?! How would that help me?!' 

'Let me answer that question with another question,' my sub-conscious said. 'What exactly are your "evasive maneuvers?"' 

'Yank my hand away.' 

'Let's think things through first, for a change. You do realize your hand is in the hem of her skirt.' 

'Umm... ' Mental images flashed through my mind. Me yanking my hand away while it was still in Naru's skirt. One fabric ripping later, and Naru would have nothing below her waist but her stockings and underwear. One pervert calling later, and I would be imbedded in the tree we were under. 'Thanks.' 

My sub-conscious smiled. "You're welcome, but I think I'll keep your warning system off in situations like these. It might save a you a lot of trouble and pain.' 

'It probably will,' I chuckled. 'It probably will.' 

Okay, back to reality for me. I stopped myself from yanking my hand up and thereby preventing Naru's bottom half from being devoid of outer clothing. I slid my hand from between her skirt and rear and put it to her shoulders with the other as I sat us both back up. "Hello, Mutsumi." Needless to say, all three of us were surprised when the situation didn't end horribly after Naru and I were caught in that odd position. 

"Oh my, hello, Urashima, Narusegawa. I didn't mean to catch you in one of your romantic interludes." 

"That's okay," I said. "It sort of started out when Naru explained what happened and I apologized and kinda ended up like this." I grinned at Naru as she blushed, but she still kept her arms around my neck. If anything, she actually tightened her grip on me, as if she were protecting me. I was surprised, and showed as much by raising an eyebrow. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately, raising an eyebrow I mean. 

She responded by grinning back and moving over to drape herself on my back, resting her chin on my shoulder. She grinned again, and nuzzled into me. I sighed. I don't think I'd ever understand what that woman was thinking. But anyway, back to the matter at hand. "She told me you got into my room because of your strange sleeping habits," I said to Mutsumi. 

"Oh, yes, I must've been sleepwalking again and then I found this bunny and I fell down this hole. It felt like I was floating and the next thing I knew, I collided with your rock-hard head. When I woke up, it was already morning and everyone was so happy to see me." 

Something in my mind clicked. "So that's where I got that lump on my head from! I was wondering why my head kept hurting every time I thought about what could have happened last night." Another click. I groaned. "That would also explain why I had no pants on. I was knocked unconscious while I was changing." 

Naru giggled. "It does make sense when you think about it." 

I sighed again. "Well, that's that, but... what about that test you were talking about this morning? That little statement of yours blew my entire little tirade out of the water." 

"Oh, that." Mutsumi put her hand up to her forehead and stuck out her tongue. "I wanted to tell you that I finally finished those really hard math problems you let me borrow." 

"So then why'd you say it like you did?!" I yelled. What she said had made me contemplate suicide! 

"Keitaro... it's okay." Naru said. She kissed me on the cheek. "Everything is okay." 

"But..." She kissed my cheek again, and I fell silent. I sighed. "Fine... but in a way, I'm kind of disappointed nothing happened." 

"Disappointed?" Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. It was then I realized that even though Naru had me in a loving embrace, she was also in quite a good position to start strangling me. I waited for my panic system to activate, but my sub-conscious seemed to have still been able to keep it disabled. For that, I was grateful. I could now answer back rationally. 

"What I mean was that I've always wanted kids, but the only person I want to have children with is you, Naru," I gulped. Oh God, please let her believe me. I really didn't want our cozy little moment ruined by my blatant remark. I really have always wanted kids. You know, "play with the little tykes?" And truth be told, I wanted to be with Naru always. I wanted to grow old with her. 

I guess some of those feelings must have been shown in my eyes because her disgruntled look softened, and she rubbed her cheek against mine whispering, "silly boy." Her arms relaxed against me and she drew me back into a loving hug. I then noticed it was kind of chilly. I looked down, and then up again. "Urm... were either of you ever going to mention that I'm still in my pajamas?" 

They looked at each other, blushed and giggled. Mutsumi pulled out my coat and held it out to me. "Here," she said. "Naru ran out too quickly to take it, so the others gave it to me and told me to follow her." I thanked her and took my coat, putting it on. I immediately felt much warmer. I closed my eyes and sighed happily. I felt all warm and toasty. 

Then I felt a body press against my arm and I felt even warmer. I looked over to see Naru wrapped around my arm, her head on my shoulder. She looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back and scratched the back of my head nervously. Why was she being so forward in public? 

"Oh my, Narusegawa," Mutsumi giggled. "I never thought you'd take our pinky swear so quickly to heart." 

"Pinky swear?" I said to Naru. What pinky swear? What on earth were those two talking about? I was getting really confused. Was that why Naru was acting... funny? 

"It's nothing!" Naru said quickly while waving a hand in front of her face. Well if it was nothing, than why was she being so antsy about it? 

"Care to repeat that?" I asked, trying to push the matter further. 

"Just drop it!" She yelled. I decided to. I didn't want to anger her when she had such a good grip on my arm. All I did was smile off-handedly and put my hand behind the back of my neck. I was still curious, but I was sure that she would tell me when she wanted to. Besides... if that pinky swear made her so warm towards me like this, I would just lie back and let it happen. 

"The others have calmed down by now," Mutsumi said in her lilting voice. "So we should be heading back now." I sighed. At least now that they knew the truth, they wouldn't punish me for my alleged crime. But I would have to apologize for yelling at them all in my rage and anger. I sighed again and pulled my arm out of Naru's hold. She looked hurt until I smiled and put my arm around her tiny waist, pulling her to me. She almost glowed as she put both her arms around me and pulled me into a hug, her head on my shoulder. With that, the three of us headed back to Hinata House. 

***** 

At the stairs to the dormitory, we started to talk about the exams. "So," I said. "Only ten days left to go." 

"I can hardly wait!" Mutsumi said happily. 

"We've got to give it our all!" Naru exclaimed. 

"Do you think," Mutsumi said with her hands behind her back. "That we can stay friends even after we get into Tokyo University?" 

"Of course, Mutsumi," I smiled. I then grinned nervously and scratched the back of my head nervously. "But I'm worried I won't get in. I do have the intellectual capacity of mitochondria." Sigh. It was true. My intelligence was not even close to average, let alone extraordinary like Naru's and Mutsumi's. Things just did not gel in my brain. 

"Boy, you're such a pessimist." Mutsumi giggled. "Cheer up." That's just like Mutsumi, always looking on the bright side of things. She is the biggest optimist I have ever known in my entire life. She said that even if she failed the exams this time around, she would try again next time. Now this is just me, but failing four or five times would not be a happy experience for me! Oh well... 

"Stop beating yourself up," Naru said. "You're gonna do just fine," she mumbled through the kiss on my cheek. She tightened her hold on me and I smiled. Naru was definitely going to be my biggest supporter throughout that ordeal. I decided there and then that I would do my best to make sure I got accepted along with her and Mutsumi. 

I loosened her hold on me and she glanced at me questiongly. I just smiled, moved closer to Mutsumi and stuck my hand between the three of us. Naru smiled in recognition and put her hand on mine. A moment later, Mutsumi giggled and did the same. "Well then," I said. "All together now. Here's to the future..." 

We all threw our hands up. "To the future! Tokyo U, here we come!" A breeze flitted between us and lifted up Naru's skirt. Her panties and stockings were shown as a furious blush crossed her face. 

"Oh, boy." 

'Sorry, buddy,' my sub-conscious laughed. 'You're gonna die no matter what you do.' 

"I'll kill you!" Naru yelled while raising a fist. 

"How is this my fault?!" I cried while trying to run away from a berserk Naru. Unfortunately, I tripped and crashed into Mutsumi. She flew off in a daze, turning and around as she headed towards the stairs. "Mutsumi, look out!" 

"Abbbuu!" She smacked herself face-first into one of the cherry blossom trees and fell down in a heap. 

"Oh geez! That's got to hurt!" I cried as I rushed over to her. I pulled her up and inclined her head on my upraised knee. "Are you alright?" 

"Mutsumi, don't go towards the light!" Naru yelled. 

"Don't... worry. I'm fine." Mutsumi murmured. 

A strong wind then suddenly blew through the area as the sun shown through the clods, shading the ground. Its dazzling rays sparkled on the snow thrown around by the wind. The snow reflected a soft, pinkish tint as it fluttered back down to the ground. It was so amazingly beautiful, it took my breath away. Memories were pooping up like crazy as I watched this wonderful display of light shining all around us. 

"Wooow!" Naru said in complete awe. "The snow looks like... cherry blossoms. Wow." 

I was silent. It was just like back then... Memories of my early childhood flooded back to me in torrents as I watched this beautiful sight. I remembered. The cherry blossoms floating in the air as my two best childhood friends played in the play ground in front of me. They laughed as they pulled me along. 

_ "Kei!" _

"C'mon, Kei! Let's all play together!" 

I could feel tears begin to gather in my eyes as those wonderful memories came back. I had forgotten so many of them... for so long. I had only remembered some of them from last Christmas, and only so few. So many happy times that I could not recall... could not remember. I then noticed Mutsumi slowly rising to her feet. She closed her eyes and slowly moved forward as if in a trance. Finally, she turned her head over her shoulders and opened her eyes. 

"Ke... Kei-kun?" 

I froze. 

"Kei-kun? Is that really you?" She turned completely and pointed a finger at Naru. "And Na-chan... you're here too? I haven't seen either of you... for a long, long time." 

A/N: Well, another cliffhanger. I love myself for torturing you like this. It gives me a strange feeling of pleasure. Or maybe that's not such a good thing. Anyway, I've finally got this chapter done and I've almost got the seventh chapter drafted into my notebook, so I'm happy! Unfortunately, I'm starting to slow down because school is beginning to pick up. Oh well, what you gonna do? In any case, I hope I can keep writing chapters you will enjoy and I'll be right back with you after the interview. Oh, before that, about the dislocations? I don't why I inserted those, but let's just say life experiences inspired me. I have never broken a bone in my body, but I have nearly dislocated every single joint instead. Painful... 

Me: Well, aren't you happy that I ended the resolve so nicely? You guys even got to cuddle a little. 

Keitaro: _(chuckles)_ Yeah, I guess you could say that. 

Naru: Pervert! _(pulls Keitaro into a bear hug)_

Keitaro: Ack! I'm sorry! Please let go! 

Naru: _(lets go slightly)_ But you're _my_ pervert... 

Keitaro: _(grins)_ And I always will be. 

Me: Awww... so cute. It's getting annoying, even for me. Bye-bye. 

_I type some commands into my keyboard and transport the two lovebirds into a more private room. Now they can... ahem. Anyway... _

Me: _(grins)_ I love my author powers. 

Su: _(pops up behind me)_ Yeah, they're nice to have. 

Me: Wahh! _(puts hand to chest)_ How do you do that, Su?! 

Su: Do what? 

Me: Just appear out of nowhere. 

Su: It's a secret. 

Me: _(shakes head)_ How did I know you were going to say that? 

Su: Because you know me. 

Me: _(smirks)_ That's right! You're my favorite character! Reminds me a bit of my brother except you're a girl and much cuter to boot. 

Su: _ (looks at my slyly)_ Yamiga, are you hitting on me? 

Me: _(scratches back of head)_ You know, I'm really not sure. 

Su: _(sweatdrops)_ Well, if you are, it's an okay start. 

Me: Heh... Oh well, in any case, I'm sorry I can't put more of you and the other girls in. But since this is mainly a Keitaro/Naru fic, you other guys don't show up that much, but don't worry! You'll have plenty to say during the next interviews! 

Su: Good. Well... _(glomps onto my back and looks over my shoulder)_

Me: Ugh... Su, you got to warn me next time. In any case... 

Su: _(grins)_ Please Review! 

A/N: Well, I finally did get this chapter done, so I'm happy. I'm such a slow typer and writer, so bear with me if the updates take too long sometimes. I'm really sorry. Anyway, I'm writing as quick as I can. Oh, and sorry about adding the panic system and Keitaro's sub-conscious in the interview. I just didn't think in time. I'll include them next time though. Okay? Okay. Anyway, please review, and remember, no flames! 

_Preview!!! _

Next Chapter: Memories and Tests 

"Mu-chan!" I cried out as I ran to her and pulled her into a bear hug. She hugged me back as I swung her in a circle. "Mu-chan, you remember... I'm so happy. So very happy, Mu-chan." I said as I put her down and she cried into my shoulder. I saw Naru standing awkwardly to the side and grinned. I leaned over slightly, shot an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into the hug with me and Mutsumi... 


	4. Memories and Tests

A/N: Yo people! I am back! And so is chapter 4, the secret is out! What is the relationship between Keitaro, Naru and Mutsumi? What really happened 16, 17, wait... just long ago? I am getting lots of ideas for the next chapters, especially the volumes that come much later on. Just to tell you, volume 11's gonna be a lot fun when Keitaro finds some freaky ruins. That's not for a while, but I need to hook you somehow, now don't I? And now, my thanks to my reviewers. 

**Nutty Al:** thank you for the review and I hope that you keep on reviewing. Anyway about the promise girl... I'm sorry if I haven't made this clear people but... _Naru is Keitaro's promise girl!_ I'm sorry if I haven't made this clear, but she is and there's nothing you can do about it. I've read the entire manga series and since I'm basing this story off of the manga, Naru is Keitaro's promise girl. If you still don't understand, read the last chapter of "Holding Hands" and the first chapter of "And Life Goes On" to get a quick recap 

**anoymonous:** I will, I will, I will, I will... thank you 

**John McCoy:** thanks for the suggestion, man. I am thinking of doing a self-insert as a sequel to this story. But that won't be for a while. Anyway, author powers are cool, and I am thinking of installing them, but I'm not going to be all powerful or something like that, so don't worry. And for you to be in it, I will say this once. Since it is gonna have no plot whatsoever, well, maybe some, anyone who wants to be in it, will get at least one cameo. But I warn you, this will only be for my loyal reviewers, **NO ONE ELSE!!!!!** Got it? Good 

**Baka-Alaskan:** hey baka! Haven't seen you for a while. How you been? Anyway, thank you for the reviews, it's great =P 

**K3:** sorry man, but that was the way your name was written. Sorry. Weird and unexpected... that is the core substance of Love Hina, so I'd suggest you'd get used to it because it's gonna be happening a lot more, heh. Keitaro just unlucky I guess 

**jennyjennai:** thank you so much for the review. I really like it. Yeah, paralleling it with the manga was my point, but trust me, when Keitaro gets to America, it's gonna be a major branching point 

**Android K:** yo my pre-reader! How you doing? Thanks for the review. It was great. Love the fact that you're still working with me, I really appreciate it. Thank you 

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you. I will as soon as possible 

**Shadowed-Moon 2525:** dude, thanks for the review. Bipolar, huh? That's a new one. Course one of my pre-readers said that reading it was like watching an impending train accident, so I'm not too surprised. Can't wait for your next chapter to come out, and I am putting my "Holding Hands" on the same website. And now, to all my readers, for sm2525, I will say this: go to and read his fic, "The New Resident." It be good, sort of like metal gear and LH combined... good times 

**Lamikhara:** man, thanks for the review, it be good. Yeah, cliffies are evil, they drive me crazy when I read them, but I love them anyway. I will and as soon as possible 

**Turtle Lady:** hey girl! Whassup! Thanks for the review! And if I'm now your favorite author then... I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!! Thank you! 

Thank you to all my reviewers! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 4: Memories and Tests**

_"Kei-kun, is that you?" She turned and pointed a finger at Naru. "And... Na-chan... you're here too? I haven't seen either of you... for a long, long time."_

My heart skipped a beat, my mouth went dry, and my vision went blurry with tears. Did she... did she remember who she was once was? "Mutsumi," I said slowly and quietly. "You called me 'Kei-kun.' Does that mean you remember? Do you remember what happened long ago?" 

"Yes... it's all becoming crystal clear. I used to live at Hinata House a long time ago. And you're Kei-kun and Na-chan, my oldest and dearest friends." Her eyes began to water too. I couldn't believe it. Mutsumi had remembered who she used to be. I was so happy... no, I was beyond happy. I was absolutely ecstatic. 

"Mu-chan!" I cried out as I ran to her and pulled her into a bear hug. She hugged me back as I swung her in a circle. "Mu-chan, you remember... I'm so happy. So very happy, Mu-chan." I said as I put her down and she cried into my shoulder. I saw Naru standing awkwardly to the side and grinned. I leaned over slightly, shot an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into the hug with me and Mutsumi. 

"Isn't this great, Naru? Two of my dearest friends are here with me, and one of them remembers who she once was. I'm not the only one who remembers what happened back then anymore." I leaned over and kissed Mutsumi on the cheek. She blushed and giggled with an 'oh my.' I then turned to see Naru with an annoyed look. I quickly put that to rest when I kissed her full on the mouth. She was surprised at first, but quickly gave into it. 

After a few seconds, I stopped and whispered into her ear, "Thought I'd forget you, didn't you?" She merely blushed, grinned evilly, threw her arms around and kissed me fiercely. I was shocked when she opened her mouth and proceeded to French me. But, just like her, I quickly gave in, moving one hand around her waist, the other cupping her face. 

This continued on for a few _minutes_ until Mutsumi interrupted. "Oh my, I hope you two don't mind, but if you're going to breed, could you please do it somewhere else and not in public?" I sputtered and nearly bit my tongue in half. I pulled away from Naru who seemed disappointed, but she just smiled and repeatedly kissed my neck. I could feel my desires begin to accumulate, but I pushed them back down. I didn't think Mutsumi would appreciate it if I knocked Naru down and had my way with her. 

"Sooo... Mu-chan," I said. Naru just happily nuzzled my neck as she hugged me. "You finally remember what happened when we were kids. But I have a question, since you didn't make the promise with me, then who did you make it with?" I really wanted to know. Because of her promise, Mutsumi tried so hard to get into Tokyo U. 

"Oh yes, the person I made my promise to." Mutsumi blushed and giggled. I wondered why she was doing that. Was she embarrassed by something? "Umm, I'd rather not say. It's kind of embarrassing now that I remember who I made it to." She giggled again. 

"Mutsumi..." I drew out her name. Why was it embarrassing? "C'mon, tell us." 

"Okay," Mutsumi sighed. "The person I made my promise with was a girl." Okay... _that_ I wasn't expecting. She made a promise to go to Tokyo U and live happily ever after... with a girl, a person of the same gender. Yeah, I can see why she would be embarrassed. If I had made a promise like that, only to find out it was to a guy, I would have probably slit my wrists and would have been happy when I finally died. 

Meanwhile, both Naru and I were frozen with shock. "A girl?" We both said, our eyes and mouths both wide open. Naru became silent and I spoke again. "W-what do you mean, Mutsumi?" Who the heck could she have made the promise to? I was totally stumped. 

Naru broke out of her silent state and took a step towards Mutsumi. "B-but..." She stuttered. "You made... a promise... and it was at Hinata House... so-" Yes, it was Hinata House. That was good enough clue to start with. 

"That's right," Mutsumi said as she turned around and clapped her hands together. Okay, so what other girls were at the Hinata House back then besides Mutsumi? I just couldn't remember. 

"You mean!?" Naru spoke again. Something inside of my mind clicked. My head snapped to look at Naru. I stared at her as I realized things falling into place. No! Mutsumi didn't mean... No, she couldn't have... Could she? 

"That's right." Mutsumi laughed. "I made it with Naru." 

My brain nearly went into red alert. [WARNING! WARNING CONFUSION... !] Then my sub-conscious gave it a good kick in its input drive. It short-circuited. [ERROR! OUCH... ] My sub-conscious gave it another kick and wiped its hands together. 

'Stupid system. Next time I'll take a sledgehammer to it.' My panic system 'visibly shuddered. 

Thanking my sub-conscious again, I watched as Naru tried to speak. "What... W-what?! With me?!" She yelled as she pointed at herself. "Are you serious?!" If I weren't so damned confused over the entire matter, I would have laughed at her gaping mouth and saucer-like eyes. 

"Umm..." I scratched the back of my head, looking perplexed. "I am confused... Did you say Naru?" 

"Yes, I did. And I'm not surprised that you are," Mutsumi laughed. "But hey, when I made the promise to her, you weren't even there, Urashima." I was surprised. She had met Naru after the first time we had all met together at Hinata House? That was... interesting. 

"I wasn't?" I asked. 

"No. Here, I'll explain it to you." She took a deep breath and started. "The person that Kei-kun, aka Urashima, made his promise was... it's been so long since I called you that, my little Kei-kun." She reached out her hand and took my cheek between her fingers, pinching it like an old female relative would. 

"Mutsumi!" I yelled. It was cute, her treating me like this, but I wanted to know what had happened. Mutsumi giggled and took her hand off her cheek and put it to her mouth. 

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "You just have such a cute baby face, I couldn't resist, Kei-kun." She giggled and started again. " The person you made your promise to was... your very first love." 

"R-right... and that was Naru, wasn't it?" 

"That's right." I sighed and moved over to Naru, slipping an arm around her waist. She jumped slightly, but then relaxed onto me. Mutsumi smiled at the scene. "But Na-chan was still quite young back then. She didn't even remember the promise." Naru stiffened guiltily, but I stopped her when I kissed her cheek. I didn't, no, _couldn't_ blame her. She was only two at the time. Heck, I was five and look at what I did. I combined Naru and Mutsumi into one person! "So a year later," Mutsumi continued. "When I met her again, I had her promise me one more time, 'To go to Tokyo U.'" 

"So that means... that... that..." I scratched my head. "Umm, what exactly does that mean?" I had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but I still wanted the exact details. As I have told you before, I am very slow on the uptake. 

"It means, Kei-kun, that my promise to her was to help her remember her promise to you." 

I felt sad. "I'm sorry, Mutsumi." 

She tilted her head. "What for, Kei-kun?" 

I looked down. I felt so ashamed. "Because of me, your promise was nothing more than a reminder." How could I do that? The one thing that pushed her to go so far, and I turned it into nothing more than a fucking memo note. Argh! I cause pain to others without even trying to or remembering! "I'm so sorry, Mu-chan." 

"Kei-kun..." I looked up to see Mutsumi in front of me... she was smiling? Why? "Kei-kun, so what if it was a reminder? It still helped me get through hard times. And now..." She took a step closer and took one of Naru's my hands into both of hers. "Now I have a reason to get into Tokyo U. To be accepted with you and Na-chan. You're both my best friends..." She then leaned forward and kissed us both on the cheek. "... And I hope you always will be." 

I smiled. "Thanks, Mu-chan." 

"You're welcome, Kei-kun." Mutsumi giggled. "But I think we should be heading back now. The others might think that you eloped with one of us!" She then started to finish the rest of the stairway up to Hinata House. I smirked at her comment and headed after her until I felt Naru drape her arms across my shoulders. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. 

"Give me a piggyback," she grinned. 

"You're kidding me, right?" 

"No," she whispered huskily. "Not at all." 

Needless to say, that made me give in to her favor. I sighed and bent my knees slightly. Naru squealed lightly and jumped on my back. She circled her arms around my neck and I held her thighs in my hands. I stood back up and began to walk up the stairs. Naru dug her head into the crook of my neck and sighed. I gulped. She was so close, and I was firmly holding her thighs. Her strong, shapely... Ack, no! I mentally slapped. I shouldn't be thinking like this! 

I heard Naru giggle. I turned my head to ask what she was giggling at and found myself pressing my lips to hers. She pressed a little harder, and then moved her lips down along my jawbone line. Her arms slid into my pajama top and she began to draw aimless designs on my chest. I gulped again. She was being so forward. _Why_ was she being so forward? Did this have something to do with that pinky swear? Was it a bet between her and Mutsumi? I had to find out. 

"Naru?" 

"Mmmm?" She had moved up from my jawbone and was now nibbling at my earlobe. I shivered. I was finding it hard to focus when she was doing this to me. I just wanted to knock her off and jump her. It was to my better judgment that I didn't. 

"A-are you... I mean... is this..." 

"What is it, Kei?" She pulled herself closer and I could definitely feel her soft breasts press into my back. Obviously, this made it even harder for me to do anything at all. 

"Does this have to do with that pinky swear between you and Mutsumi?" 

"What do you mean?" She moved her mouth to the conjunction of my jaw and throat. By now, I had stopped halfway up the stairs and was just standing there. I let out a small groan and slid my hands down her up her thighs, closer to her rear. I felt her smile against my throat. 

"I mean... is this some sort of bet?" 

She stopped. "What?" 

"Naru..." I was really nervous. I didn't want her to stop because it felt so good, but I also didn't want her to be doing it if it was a dare. "You have to be the most beautiful and sexually attractive woman that I know. So it's rather... unnerving when you make advances on me like this. And I just wanted to know, are you doing this because of some sort of dare, or is it of your own free will?" 

"Keitaro..." Naru sighed and wriggled for me to let her go. I did so and she dropped down to the ground. Turning around to face her, I immediately found her holding my face in her hands. I gulped nervously as Naru touched her nose to mine. "These advances... why exactly do they make you nervous?" 

I could feel her warm breath grace my face and involuntarily shuddered. My heart rate raised even more than before and I could feel a blush spread across my face. "B-because," I stuttered. "You're a goddess on earth and I'm... Keitaro Urashima, the perverted landlord of a girl's dormitory." It was true. I'm nothing special. Nothing at all. 

"And you're also the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, most caring, giving, persistent and loving man I know of and I love you for all of those things." My eyes widened and she giggled. "Besides, who says you aren't a god. You are immortal after all. Now I think this goddess deserves a kiss from her god." With that, she leaned forward and gave me a sweet kiss. "And about the advances, yes, it is about the pinky swear." I started to feel panicked. Naru noticed and rushed ahead. "But I swear, it's not a dare. It's just something to enhance my already strong feelings for you." 

That was a relief. But I still wanted to know exactly what the pinky swear was. I said as much. "Do you think you could tell me what it was?" 

This time it was Naru who looked nervous and embarrassed. "Umm, maybe some other time. It's really embarrassing and I'd rather not say at this stage in out relationship. So could we drop it? Please?" She looked at me with the sweetest and most innocent face she could muster. She knew for a fact that I couldn't resist her when things like that. It was a simple fact that would have to live with. But I knew that could do the same thing to her. 

"Fine," I sighed. She squealed and threw her arms around me. After a while, I turned around and bent down again. I turned my head and looked over my shoulder at Naru. "You want a piggyback the rest of the way?" She nodded vigorously and jumped on me with enough power to rival one of Su's best glomps. Man, I didn't know Naru could squeeze that hard. I stood up, but before I started to move I warned her. "Naru..." She stopped from putting her hands in my pajama top. "If you do that, I can't be blamed for doing anything drastic." 

"Oh," she quirked. "And what would _drastic_ be?" 

I grinned at her. "I'm a twenty-one year old, hot-blooded, perverted male with an extremely sexy woman clinging to his back." I slid one of my hands up her thigh to grip her rear. She blushed and I smirked. "Use your imagination." Part of me wanted her to call my bluff. Anything to get her to do those... things to me again. The other part... didn't, to put it plainly. Its logic said that even my sub-conscious wouldn't be able to control my panic system. If that happened, I would do one of two things. One, I would pass out from pure sensory overload, or two, I would have her and consequences be damned within the time space of five minutes. 

"Mmm, okay." Naru said. The first part of my brain grumbled in resignation while the second one cheered in victory. My sub-conscious sighed in relief as it tossed away the sledgehammer it was carrying to at least try to fight my panic system with. "But," she grinned wickedly. "You're going to have to make up for it later, Kei." She snuggled into me and I gulped. 

'Sorry, bud,' my sub-conscious said. 'You're on your own here.' 

I gulped again and made my way up the stairs. The entire way, Naru didn't do anything, and in a way, I was a little disappointed. I guess I wanted her to try to be a 'bad girl.' But she kept her promise and we kept in comfortable silence the whole time up the stairs. When we did get to the top, we found the rest of the Hinata honeys waiting for us. 

"So, you finally brought him back, huh?" Kitsune said. "We were wondering where he had gone." 

I bowed. "I'm very sorry for acting that way, guys. It was totally unacceptable of me." God, I hoped that they would forgive me. It was wrong of me to yell at them. Unfortunately, I really hadn't cared at the moment since I was so enraged. But still, I should have not done it. 

Kitsune put her hand to the back of her head and looked down sheepishly. "Actually, Keitaro, we should be the ones apologizing. It was wrong of us accuse you of such a crime when we really knew that you, of all people, would never do something like that. You had every right to get angry." She then motioned for the others to come over. They lined up and Kitsune said, "And so, we'd just like to say..." 

All of the girls bowed to me and said, "We are very sorry, Keitaro!" 

I was very touched by their apologetic gesture. But still, I didn't deserve to say all of the things that I said no matter how angry I got. I decided to make a compromise. "I appreciate your apology, but I was still wrong to act like that. So let's admit that we were both wrong and just leave it at that." 

Kitsune smiled. "That sounds good to me." 

"Thank you, sempai." Shinobu said. 

"I thank you, Urashima." Motoko bowed. 

"Yay, everything okies!" Shouted Su. 

"Thanks, dork," said Sarah. "But I have a question. Why is Naru on your back? Something special happen between you two?" With that, the others look pointedly at us I could feel the warmth of Naru's blush spreading throughout her face. Oh man, if only they knew... 

I grinned. "What? Can't I give my girlfriend a piggyback? She was tired after having to find my sorry ass." Not to mention it made it easier for her to make the moves on me. I guess Naru agreed because her blush deepened, but in a good way as she nuzzled her face into my neck. 

'Not bad, my friend." My sub-conscious gave me a thumbs-up. "Not bad at all.' 

I grinned again and loosened my grip on Naru as a sign for her to let go. She did so, reluctantly, to my pleasure I might add. When she did, I noticed the absence of her body warmth and I felt cold again. 

I looked down to see I still had my pajamas on with my coat wide open in windy, thirty-degree weather... Argh! No wonder I was so cold. I closed my coat around me to try to conserve body heat, but I still couldn't help my teeth from chattering. I looked up at the girls. "Y-y-you think we c-can g-g-go inside n-now, girls?" I said through chattering teeth. 

"Very well, Urashima." Motoko said. "But first, I need to ask you, where is my katana?" She looked at me with burning eyes and I realized I'd better answer correctly or I would die a slow, horrible death. Motoko's katana was like her other half, it was a part of her. The only problem was, I didn't have it. 

"Oh, shit! I left it underneath the tree I was near!" I yelled out. 

"Urashima..." Motoko growled, the fire of Hades in her eyes. 

"Don't worry! I'll get it!" And with that I flew down the stairs, my coat flapping out behind me. 

***** 

After twenty minutes of running back to the place where I was and another ten minutes of fighting a rather dog, who for some reason thought that Motoko's katana was an extra-large bone (don't ask), I was finally able to get it and head back to Hinata House. There I gave it to a very grateful Motoko. She had to be grateful because she didn't punish me for stealing it in the first place. Finally, I went to my room to finally change out of my pajamas and into a warmer apparel. Now I was leaning on the banister of the laundry deck, watching the sky darken as the sunset came closer. 

I sighed. The last few days had been busy. I had finally recieved honmei chocolate from Naru, not to mention a couple nice interludes, had been accused of a crime I hadn't even remembered committing, luckily nothing had really happened, and Mutsumi had regained memories of her lost childhood just like I had. Man, it was almost as crazy as when Naru and I had confessed our love for each other. And now, in about a week or so, we had exams coming up. Argh! I was going to fail! I just knew it! I put my hands to my head and rubbed furiously. 

That's when I felt a weight drape across my back and two arms come around my waist. I turned around to see Naru's smiling face. "Oh, hey, Naru." 

"Hi, Kei," she said back. "You okay? You were doing one of your 'losing your mind' deals." 

"Ehh, just thinking about what happened and what's going to happen." 

"You mean Mutsumi and the exams?" She let go of me and moved over to lean on the banister. I followed and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to me. She smiled and rested her head on my shoulder. 

"Yeah," I sighed. "I still can't believe she remembers too, but I'm still very happy nonetheless." 

"I envy you guys." Naru sighed. 

I looked at her. "How come?" I asked. Why would she be envious? 

"Because you two remember what had happened when we were kids, and it creates a sort of bond between you. I feel like the outsider when you talk about things like that." 

A bond? Yeah, I guess I could see where she was coming from. But still, it was nothing to be envious of. I gave her a quick peck on the forehead. "It's nothing to be envious of, Naru." I said. "Sure, we may have memories of our early childhood, and memories are nice to have. But like I said last Christmas, they're just memories. We should be more involved with making our memories now, at this moment. Besides..." I gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Do you really want to regain your memories like we did ours? I had to get the flu and be blown up, and Mutsumi had to smash into a tree. "I grinned. "To get yours back, you'd probably have to get smashed on the head with something!" 

We both laughed. Naru put her arms around my waist and snuggled into me. I tightened my grip on her. We stayed like that for a little while until Naru said, "You know, I never said this before, but you're really warm." 

I was startled by this comment. "Really now?" I said. "And when did this come up?" 

"Last Christmas," she replied. "When I held your hand for the first time. It was so gentle and warm." 

"Then I guess it's true about being dumb and warm," I laughed. "Since I've got to be the dumbest person on Earth, I've also got to be the warmest too." 

Naru giggled. "That's not true. Well, not totally true." She giggled again at the look I gave her. "Things are starting to click into place for you. If you just don't spaz out, you'll do just fine. Remember the center exams?" 

I winced. How could I forget? That was a bad time for my studies. I was so worried about passing that my brain stopped functioning at times. My sub-conscious had not yet appeared to me in its chibi form and so my panic system was going on full blast. I dropped things, fell down flights of stairs I didn't even know we had, ran into various stationary objects, walked in on the girls a lot more than usual and other things that caused much bodily (not to mention property) damage. 

Then when the exam actually came, my panic system completely took over and my brain went on vacation. Not only did I manage to completely rip my answer sheet in half, but also a mysterious draft blew it halfway across the room where I had to run after it to catch it. Then the real problem started. Taking the actual test, I... well, I lost consciousness to tell the truth. The next thing I knew, the test was over and my test was done. I guess that was one of the times my sub-conscious took over and helped me. 

Of course, me being the spaz that I am, I thought that I had failed the first day and had sulked around the exam hall. It was just my luck that a TV news crew had to come on to the scene and get some live feedback from the students taking the exams. So they picked me. Out of all of the people who could have been picked, they picked the jackass who thought he had failed his test. I made a total moron of myself on national television. It was horrible. 

After that I ran off to the skating pond to go and die. But noooo... I couldn't even do that. Naru and Mutsumi used the help of Tama-chan to find me. I, of course, lied to them when they asked me about the test results and therefore felt even worse afterward. I ran off again and into Seta. Well, more like I fell into the hole he ice fishing out of. Don't ask me; I don't why he was ice fishing in the middle of a skating pond. Anyway, he gave me some real good advice: "Just do your best. Whatever you do, you should enjoy it. That's the only way to be happy in life." That sentence helped me choose to change my decision of not doing the second day of exams. 

Of course, Naru found out and gave me a good tongue lashing for lying to them and even thinking about giving up. But then we made up rather quickly and she helped me grade my paper. Ironically, I got a better grade than her. Yes, I am a man cursed with the most bizarre luck with tests. With that, I actually passed my center exams. 

I chuckled. Naru looked at questioningly. I just shrugged and hugged her closer. "Nothing, just thinking how I actually got higher than the former nation's tops." A sudden pain happened in my side. "Ouch! What was that for?" Naru removed her fingers from my side, grinned and shrugged. I sighed. Well, what did I expect? I sighed again, kissed her cheek and watched the rest of the sunset with her before going down to dinner. 

***** 

Time flew by and it was the day before the second Tokyo U exam. I sighed. My fourth examination to get into Tokyo University. Was I really ready for it? My mind was in turmoil from worrying about the exam and I was extremely fried. "Argh!" I yelled out loud to myself, holding my head in my hands and rolling around on the floor. "I've got to keep focused or else I'm screwed! I can't let Naru and the other girls down!" 

I sat back up and pounded my hands on the table. Hey, what did I have to worry about? I knew the material! And I've been studying! As long as I didn't freak out, I wouldn't have another near death experience! That's right, I wouldn't have to worry as much since my sub-conscious could stop my panic system from activating. 

But I still couldn't shake that tiny, nagging feeling that kept on saying, 'You're going to fail. You're going to fail.' Crap, this wasn't good at all. I sighed again, put on my coat and walked out of my room and down the stairs to go outside. If I went to the exams all stressed out, I was sure to blow a fuse like at the center exams. Maybe some fresh air would do me some good. 

The second I got outside however, the fresh air decided to mock me and turned into a chilly wind. I hugged my arms to me as I looked over the city skylight. Damn, it was cold. The doubt crept back into my mind. Why was I really trying to get into Tokyo U? Was it because I wanted to? Was it because I wanted to impress the girls? Was it because of that promise I made? Or was it... was it because of Naru, the woman I loved. I sighed again. Truthfully, I did not know. 

"Hey! What do you think you're you doing there?!" I jumped slightly and turned around. There was Naru in her pajamas, leaning on her banister. "You're gonna catch a cold!" 

"Naru! I was just... getting some fresh air." Could she read my mind? How else could she appear at the exact moment I was feeling doubt and thinking of her? 

"So, tell me how you're feeling. Think you'll pull it off?" 

"Umm, sure, maybe." I shook my head. Aww, who was I trying to kid? This was Naru, she would know if I was lying or not. "Actually, to tell the truth, I'm really not sure. I'm really worried." 

"Oh, don't be. You'll do just fine." 

"Only you smart people say that." I chuckled. "Or maybe not. I did get a higher score on my center exam than you." 

I could hear Naru growl from where I was. "Don't make me chuck something at you." 

"I won't," I grinned. There was a few moments silence until I spoke again. "Hey, Naru?" 

"Yeah?" 

"If by some miraculous event I do pass, will you go on a date with me?" 

"Where?" 

"Someplace special." I wasn't about to tell her considering _I_ didn't even really know myself. Call it spur of the moment. 

She tapped her chin and looked up. Oh, great, keep me in suspense, why dontcha? I knew what she was going to say, but I guess she wanted to add drama to it or something. Girls... "Mmm, okay. But... !" She held a finger up. "_Only_ if you pass." 

I sighed. I knew she was going to say something like that. It was just totally... Naru. Just like her. "Thanks! Just another incentive for me to pass tomorrow, huh?" 

"Yeah," she laughed. "Anyway, good luck tomorrow. If you do your best, you'll do just fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning." 

"Yeah... good night, Naru." I waved to her. She waved back and went into her room. Ii saw her light turn off and the entire inn was silent. I tuned around and looked at the city's skylight again. It was so beautiful, all of the different lights turning off as each of its inhabitants went off to peaceful slumber. I decided then to take Naru's advice. As long as I remained focused, I'd do just fine. There wasn't any need to worry about things I couldn't control... At least... that's what I kept telling myself. I sighed again and went to bed. 

***** 

The next morning I woke up with both dread and hope lying in the pit of my stomach. I groaned with frustration. Why was I still so worried over the exams after all the crap I went through and all the encouragement I received? Just like last night, I truly did not know. I dressed up in warm clothing and went out my door into the hall. There I met Kitsune in her usual risqué clothes. 

"My, you're up early," she yawned. 

"I could say the same for you, but yeah, nerves woke me up." I responded. 

"Ah, don't worry," she said as she patted me on the back. "You'll do fine." 

"Yeah, I know... I think." I scratched the back of my head and looked at Kitsune. "Is umm..." I pointed upward. "Is Naru up yet?" 

She shook her head. "Nah, lazy girl still not awake. You'd think she'd wake up early like you to get ready." 

I shook my head too. "No, sleep is important right before an exam. I should be asleep right now, but... since this is my fourth one, my brain decided to poke fun at me and wake me up." I grimaced. It seemed my panic system was able to sneak by my sub-conscious and blast me with a wake-up call. I was really starting to hate that infernal part of my brain. 

Kitsune gave me one of her fox grins. "Yeah, well... your brain isn't exactly normal." I glared at her and she laughed. "Anyway, go downstairs. Shinobu's got your breakfast ready." 

I sweatdropped. It was 6:30 in the morning! What eighth-grader would be up this early? I mentally bonked myself on the head. This was Shinobu I was talking about. That girl was the youngest iron chefs I knew of, and she was always extra nice to me whenever anything related to exams popped up. I waved good bye to Kitsune and went down the stairs to the kitchen. I poked my head in the kitchen and saw Shinobu busy making breakfast for the dorm. "Hey, Shinobu." 

I guess I had surprised her because she jumped slightly. "Oh! Hello, sempai! How are you? Are you ready for your big day?" That's Shinobu for you, always thinking about other people. She truly has a heart of gold. It's too bad she always gets too emotional over things. 

"I think," I smiled. "I should be able to scrape through a decent enough grade. Thanks for your concern." I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Kitsune said..." 

Shinobu smiled and pointed at the dining room. "It's already in there." 

"Thanks, Shinobu." I walked into the dining room and took one step before stopping. Right before me was a rather strange scene that made me choose not to eat my breakfast. I sweatdropped and walked back over to the kitchen. "Hey, Shinobu?" I called. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can eat your food." 

Shinobu's eyes began to tear up. "W-what do you m-mean, s-s-sempai?" She blubbered. I winced. I hadn't thought about what to say to explain the scene and had hurt her feelings. Idiot! I was such an idiot! "Isn't it g-good." 

I put my hands up in front of me as if to try to stem the flow of water coming from her eyes. "No, I'm sure it was delicious, Shinobu!" She stopped sobbing and hiccupped. "It's just that..." I put my hand behind my neck. "I just don't think I can actually eat it considering that it's inside Su and Sarah now." Maybe I should have explained it beforehand, huh? 

"What?!" Shinobu yelped. She ran out of the kitchen and into the dining room. I followed and saw the same scene again. Su was lying on the table over the plates that had once held Shinobu's cooking, semi-conscious and stomach bulging. Sarah was lying on top of her, stuffed with the leftovers Su didn't eat. 

"Su! Sarah!" Shinobu yelled at the prone figures. They moved slightly and Sarah fell off Su onto the where she groaned. 

Su lifted her head sleepily. "Whatzat? Shinobu?" 

"I don't believe you two!" Shouted Shinobu. "You ate sempai's special exam food!" 

"But we were hungry..." Su whined. 

"I don't care! It wasn't..." She trailed off as I put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me apologetically. I smiled and shook my head. I then turned around and walked back into the kitchen. A few seconds later, Shinobu walked back in smiled nervously at me. I just chuckled. What did she expect? With Su in the house, any food was for the taking. And if it had any type of banana seasoning or actual bananas in it, you might as well hide it in a safe. Course, she'd probably blow up the safe with one of her mecha-Tamas and eat what non-radioactive part of the banana was left... and maybe even the tainted part too. That was just the way Su was. 

But Sarah didn't usually act so strangely. I guess hanging around Su for so long was finally starting to rub off on her. The same could be said for Su as she was becoming more devious in a child-like way like Sarah was. I chuckled at the thought. Here I was thinking those two would never change, and yet they were... into each other. I chuckled again and shook my head. Shinobu looked at me strangely, but I just waved her off. 

"I'm sorry about your meal, sempai," she said sadly. 

"It's okay," I responded, I didn't want her to feel bad. I did really want to have the special meal she made for me, but her normal, everyday food is just as delicious. I knew I'd be fine with the food she was already making. "I'll just take whatever you're cooking. Besides..." I gave her a wicked grin. "That just means they don't get breakfast." 

Shinobu looked horrified. "I can't do that, sempai!" She yelped. 

"I know, Shinobu," I said, a soft smile on my face. "You're kind like that." 

Shinobu blushed and mumbled, "Thank you, sempai." I smiled and stayed there until she was able to make a dish for me, which I took and walked back into the dining room. There was Motoko, sipping a cup of tea. She nodded towards me and I smiled back. I went to the table when Su was moved off into her chair and began to eat quietly. Motoko took another sip of tea and spoke. 

"So, Urashima," she said simply. "Are you ready?" 

"Yeah, I guess so." 

"I hope you pass." She took another sip of her tea, then folded her hands and leaned forward. "You know, you've changed a lot since your first examination here." 

"Really?" I said, a little taken aback. 

"Yes," she replied. "You're not so much the perverted, weakling male you once were when you first came here." I was surprised. I never thought that Motoko would compliment me. Granted, it wasn't so much a compliment as it was an absolution from my previous crimes, but coming from Motoko it was actually very... nice. 

"Gee, thanks, Motoko." I scratched the back of my head. "That means a lot to me." She nodded and went back to her tea. I finished my meal and left the room. Su and Sarah were still semi-conscious by the way. I went back to my room and sat down. Sighing, I looked up at the ceiling. So, the day was finally here. My fourth exam. Was I really ready? Would I ever really know? I sighed again and moved to my dresser to get my exam ticket. But when I opened the drawer, it wasn't there. 

"Oh, crap! Where is it?!" I muttered frantically. If I couldn't find that ticket, I wouldn't even be able to take the exam! I had to find it! That's when I noticed a white corner sticking out of the drawer next to it. I opened it and there was my exam ticket. Why was it...? Oh well, I probably either forgot where I put it or moved it by accident. Without bothering to look at it, I shoved it into my travel bag. I sighed in relief and pulled on my coat. It was going to be a big day. 

Walking downstairs, I saw all of the Hinata honeys lined up to send me off. "Hey, guys." 

"Hey, Keitaro," Kitsune said back. "Aintcha gonna wait for Naru? She's till getting ready." 

"No, I kind of need some alone time right now." Well, that much was true. I needed to be alone while I thought about what was going to happen. "Just tell her that I went off ahead, okay?" 

"Okay, Keitaro," Kitsune grinned. "Now c'mon, we've gotta sent you off." 

They followed me out of Hinata House and to the top of the stone staircase. There they stood in a line, and Su, Sarah and Tama-chan whipped signs out of nowhere. Su's said, "Good Luck!©" Sarah's said, "Good luck Naru, Urashima! By Papa." That one had to be from Seta, and Tama-chan's, of course, said, "Myuh." 

"G-good luck, sempai!" Ah, Shinobu... always the kind-hearted. 

"Just remember. You know the routine by heart." Kitsune... the ever confident one. 

"If you take it one step at a time you'll do fine, Urashima!" Motoko, in her usual stoic-warrior attitude. 

"Jus' take it easy and relax!" The giant bundle of energy that was Su. 

"Don't screw up!" And of course, that had to be Sarah. 

I sweatdropped slightly at their enthusiasm. It was... normal, strangely enough. "Umm... thanks... guys." As I waved to them and walked down the stairs, I raised my head to look at my surroundings. The sky was mostly clear, with a few clouds to give it a picturesque look. The sun was shining brightly through the foliage of the tress, creating random silhouetted designs on the ground that changed rapidly because of the fierce wind blowing every so often. I could see my breath appear in the cold air, and then, just as suddenly, disappear. It was a perfect day for an exam. 

When I made it to the bottom, I saw Haruka standing outside of her tea house. I waved to her and she nodded back in acknowledgement. I took the last few steps to the landing and walked over to her. "Hi, Aunt Haruka," I said. 

She whacked me in the head with a paper fan. "Just call me Haruka," she grumbled. 

I rubbed at the lump she gave me. "But you'll always be my Aunt Haruka." 

She gave me another good-sized lump. "Don't care. Makes me sound old." 

"But you always used to want to be called that when we were younger." 

"Keitaro..." She growled, and I saw her hand ball up into a fist. 

I decided to veer away from that conversation. "So, Mutsumi up yet?" 

"Yeah, but she's still getting ready. I swear, the girls these days take too long to get ready for anything." 

"That's right. How come you never take long to do anything, Haruka? Usually you just throw on a shirt, some shorts and your apron." Those words that came out of my mouth were probably not the smartest ones to say. 

Haruka's stoic face changed into a mask of cold fury, her lips a tight line, her eyes both freezing cold and raging hot. I took a step back as she exhaled, the smoke framing her face like a picture of a devil. You would think by now that I would have remembered to never insult a woman unless you absolutely can't help, and I mean _absolutely can't help it._

"We're going to leave it at that," she said calmly, too calmly. I gulped. I was treading dangerous ground here, like a minefield. If I made one wrong move, there wouldn't be enough left to identify me with. I decided to do the safest thing and slowly back away from the very scary problem in front of me. 

"Yes, ma'am." I gulped again and scratched the back of me head nervously. I grinned to try to lighten the mood, but Haruka just shot me a look that stopped all levity. I gulped and said, "I'm off now then. See ya, Haruka." I wasn't about to add on to her wrath by adding the aunt part. I wasn't that stupid. At least... I hoped I wasn't. 

Haruka then gave me a smile. Not a forced smile like I thought she would have after our not-so-friendly conversation, but an actual, genuine smile. "Good luck, Keitaro. I hope you do well." 

I smiled back and headed to the trolley that would take me to Tokyo U. when it came, I got on and it went on its way. I sighed. It was time for my fourth exam, to get into Tokyo U, and also to live happily ever after with Naru. My mind moved to that thought. I hadn't even thought about that. I still thought of Na-chan and Naru as two different people, one as the little girl I made my promise to, the other the woman I fell in love with. 

It wasn't long before I fell asleep, images of Naru dancing within my mind. 

***** 

"Tokyo U. Tokyo U." 

I roused out of my sleep to the ringing voice of the trolley conductor. I got up and sleepily walked out of the vehicle. The chilly winter air immediately woke me up. "Whoa! Cold!" I yelled out. A few people took a couple steps away from me and I flushed at my sudden outburst. I put my head down and walked silently onto the campus as a few people watched me, whispering quietly to each other. 

I was kinda early as the test didn't start for a couple hours, so I decided to take a walk. It was absolutely beautiful. I would have gone to Tokyo U just for the face value of its outside. The landscaper had done a very good job to bring out a peaceful sight for the entire campus. Everything was neat and orderly, but also seemed to burst with life. 

I walked around, noticing couples walk hand in hand. I smiled, thinking about how maybe Naru and I could do that if I actually ever did make it into Tokyo U. I mentally hit myself. No, not _if_ I ever made it. _When_ I made it into Tokyo U. if I thought negatively like this, I'd already lost half the battle. I shook my head and kept walking until I found a nice place on a hill to lie down. I did so, pillowing my hands behind my head as I looked up at the azure blue sky. 

I sighed. It was so beautiful here. I would do anything to be part of its prestigious alumni, especially if it was with Mutsumi and Naru, my best friend and the woman I loved. I sighed again. I couldn't let them down, could I? My mind drifted off to aimless matters as I thought about what my life would hold for me while the sun slowly moved across the sky. 

Finally, it was time to start the test. I sighed and rose to my feet. Time to take the bull by the horns, do or die, face the- 

'Just shut up and go, idiot!' My sub-conscious shouted. 

Right. Time to go. I began walking back to the entrance to see if I could catch Naru and Mutsumi before they went to their rooms. There they were, chatting amiably with each other. I smiled and walked towards them. Mutsumi noticed me and waved. "Good morning, Kei-kun!" She said gaily. 

"Hi, Mutsumi." I turned to Naru. "Hi, Naru." 

She pouted and puffed out her cheeks. "You left without me." 

"I'm sorry," I grinned sheepishly. "But I need some time alone." 

"Oh, leave him alone, Na-chan." Mutsumi giggled. "I don't think Kei-kun needs any extra pressure on him right now." 

"Oh, fine." Naru huffed. She moved over to me, took my arm and whispered into my ear, "But you're going to pay for it later." I gulped, dreading the punishment I was going to receive. Mutsumi giggled, pulled Naru over to her and whispered something into her ear. After finishing, they both broke down into a fit of goggles and Naru leered at me. Then again, the way she was looking at me showed that maybe this 'punishment' might not necessarily be one that I would not like. 

After they finished giggling, Mutsumi spoke up. "Well then..." She put a hand on both mine and Naru's shoulders. "Na-chan, Kei-kun... this is it. Good luck and give it your all. Bye now!" She turned away and waved to us before running off to the building where the test was being taken. Before she got in however, she tripped and fell flat on her face. We winced as we saw her twitch, and then get back up. "I'm okay!" She yelled back at us. Then she woozily made her way into the building. 

Naru and I looked at each other and laughed. I offered her my arm. "May I escort you to the exam?" She slid her arm into mine, smiling impishly. We made our way to the building, our arms linked with each other. "What exam room are you in?" I asked her. 

"A-1040," she responded. 

"Really?" I was surprised. She had the same exam room as me. "That's mine, too." 

She just smiled and pulled me closer. "That just means I get to be with you longer," she said. I grinned at her and we walked to the entrance of the building. We then looked at each other, nodded and stepped over the threshold. 

A/N: Well, I'm happy to say that that chapter's done and finished! I hope you people like it. Yeah, I know. It's not a cliffie like I usually do, but my original work didn't stop there and continued, and I don't think you would have enjoyed reading an almost 40 page chapter. Get tedious after a while, no? Anyway, got half of chapter 8 done, partly into volume eight. Ideas are coming to me, and I am glad for it. Now I'll talk to you later after my interview. 

Me: Well, that's done with. Now I'd like to introduce you guys to the two new characters from the last chapter: Keitaro's sub-conscious and panic system! _(trumpet blares in fanfare off in background; I sweatdrop)_ Eh, that wasn't necessary. 

_Keitaro's sub-conscious and panic system walk out onto the scene. To give a visual, the panic-system looks like one of those big, bulky super-computers from the late 1900s, and the sub-conscious is a chibi form of Keitaro. If you've seen the video game/dream episode of the Love Hina anime, you'll know what I'm talking about. They walk over to me._

Me: So hey guys, how you doing? Should I call you by any specific name? Panic system and sub-conscious are too long to say normally. 

Sub-conscious: _(shrugs)_ I guess you could call me Taro, seeing how it's part of my guy's Keitaro's name. Him... _(points to panic system)_

Panic System: JUST CALL ME PANIC! 

Me: _(sweatdrops)_ Do you really have to talk in caps and end in exclamation points? 

Panic: ... ... ... ... ... ... YES! 

Me: Okay... 

Taro: Heh, just ignore him. He's a nice guy once you get to know him. 

Me: _(scratches head)_ That's strange... I thought I made you guys out to be bitter enemies. 

Panic: THAT'S JUST DURING THE FIC! 

Taro: Yeah, Yamiga, we get along pretty friendly outside of it. _(grins)_ Plus he knows that I have my hammer to get him to shut up. 

Panic: SPEAKING OF HAMMERS... I THOUGHT THAT ONLY FEAMLE ANIME CHARACTERS CARRY HAMMERS AROUND! 

Me: Heh, yeah well... I saw how you guys needed conflict and a hammer just seemed like the best deal to go with. In any case... now that I've introduced you guys, would you mind if I got the other characters in here? 

Taro: Sure. 

Panic: FINE! 

Me: _(grins)_ Cool. _(whistles)_ Yo, guys! Come on in and meet the new characters! _(the rest of the Hinata Crew walks in)_ I'd like to introduce you to Kei's panic system and sub-conscious, now known as Panic and Taro. 

Shinobu: Kyaaahhhh! Sempai's sub-conscious is sooo cute! _(goes over and gives Taro a big hug)_

Taro: Gack! Miss, please don't do that! You are having an effect on Keitaro, you know! 

Shinobu: Huh? _(turns around to see Keitaro with a dazed look in eyes)_ Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, sempai! _(lets go of Taro)_

Keitaro: _(snaps out of daze and laughs nervously)_ It's okay, Shinobu. I do find this extremely freaky though. 

Kitsune: Yeah, that's right. If these guys are part of Keitaro's mind, then how can they be here? 

Me: Kitsune, I'm an author. I can do whatever I damn well please in this world. And saying that... Naru, Keitaro, come over here. Got something to say to you about next chapter. 

_The two walk over to me and I pull them close before whispering something into their ears. Their eyes go wide and when I finish, they're both blushing furiously._

Me: _(grins)_ Taking that you two like that. _(they both nod)_ Good... 

Motoko: Yamiga, what exactly do you do to them next chapter? 

Me: That would be none of your business, Motoko. 

Motoko: _(growls)_ Yamiga... 

Su: Hey, what does this button do? _(reaches out for a button on Panic)_

Me: No, Su! Not that button! _(click)_ Too late... 

Panic: WARNING! WARNING! FAILURE IMMINENT! STRESS IMMINENT! SENSORY OVERLOAD! EVACUATE! EVACUATE! _(lights blink on and off as Panic turns to mist and disappears into Keitaro's body)_

Keitaro: Waaaahhhhhh! I'm going to fail! I'm going to die! Naru's going to hate me! I'm going to hate me! Yamiga's going to write me off! Whyyyyyy meeeeeee?!?! _(runs off)_

Naru: Kei!! _(runs off after him)_

Me: _(sighs)_ Damn it, Su. 

Su: _(grins sheepishly)_ Heh, sorry. 

Kitsune: What the hell just happened? 

Me: Kitsune, Panic is Keitaro's panic system for a reason. And Su just turned him on full blast. 

Shinobu: That's not good is it? 

Me: Nope. And now Taro's gonna have to chase after him. Taro? 

Taro: _(pulls out sledgehammer and grins)_ With pleasure. 

Me: Before you do that, could you, uh... _(points to audience)_

Taro: Sure. _(bows)_ Please Review! _(runs off)_

A/N: Cool, that's finally over. Now, just to warn you, the next chapter gonna have some a pretty good amount of citrus in it. Whether it's a lemon or not, I'm not too sure. Is a lemon when they actually have sex, or close to it? If somebody could tell me what the parameters of a lime and lemon are, I'd appreciate it. Okay? Cool... I'm gonna start asking for suggestions on different things later on in the story from you guys, so don't be surprised if I just randomly ask you something. I like feedback since I am still only beginning. Okay? Okay. Anyway, please review, and remember, no flames! 

_Preview! _

Next Chapter: Rise Before the Fall 

The first thing I saw when I woke up was a pair of brown eyes staring right at me. They were filled with such love and warmth that I couldn't help but be mesmerized by them. That's when I realized that if there were eyes, there had to be a face for them to be on. And in that respect, that face had to be attached to a body. And if that was the case, then I had a very warm, soft and feminine body contained within my arms. My sub-conscious never had a chance... 


	5. Rise Before the Fall

A/N: Hey people! How you doing? Fifth chapter's up, it's about 25 pages, so you can see why I wanted to separate this into a different chapter, right? Anyway, second day of the exam is near, and Keitaro and Naru are doing something other than studying... Warning for all you people right now! Extreme lime, mild lemon is contained within this chapter! Unless you understand the meaning of foreplay, I'd suggest not even bothering reading the second part of the chapter. It's the citrus part. ;) Hope you enjoy! And now a quick thanks to my reviewers. 

**someone:** thank you for the review! It's nice! 

**Lollipop U:** thank you so much for the review! It's so cool! It's sweet to know that the first LH fic you ever read was mine. I'm so honored! And please don't hurt me, pain isn't good! Even though I enjoy it from time to time. Proves that I'm still alive. Cynical, ain't I? 

**you know who:** thank you for the review. For the answer to your question, read the author's note above 

**Filipino_Sniper:** thank you so much for the review. I like it! Also, thank you for the definitions, they help. Oh, the fact that you said I give feeling to the lime scenes makes me really glad too 

**Ami-Chan39:** thank you for the review, and I stopped it there because the two chapters would have been way too long together. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! C'mon people, let's sing happy birthday to turtle lady! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear turtle... eh, I'm bored _(walks off)_ Just kidding! happy birthday! 

**jennyjennai:** thank you so much for the wonderful review! I love it so much! Anyway, waff is good, and you might not like it, but there are gonna be some parts in this story that are fluffy enough to rot your teeth. Oh well... 

**Lamikhara:** thanks for the vote of confidence, dude, it's really nice. I'm sorry you don't get the manga though, you're missing out on a lot. But my story's a lot like the manga... except there's a lot more Keitaro bashing and barely any lovey dovey stuff until the end of the manga series. Heh, whatcha gonna do? 

**lifelessdummy:** thank you so much for the review! And I feel so flattered that you drop everything (except music; music is good!) to read my new updates. And yeah, Keitaro's gonna be a lot less accident prone, just because the old klutziness gags get old after a while. Thank you 

**Nutty Al:** thank you so much for the review! But I'm sorry about the self insert, I still really, really want to do it. But don't worry, I'm not going to begin writing until the end of "and life goes on," and trust me, that's not gonna be for a long, long time. And hey, it might have an actual plot, ya never know 

**Android K:** hello, my prereader! Hizzy in the hizzhouse!... and now that I've properly shown you that I have lost my sanity, on with the thanks. Thanks for the help man, appreciate it. And you said you liked spicy moments, so I t'ink you'll like this chapter _(devil horns appear)_ Aiyahh! The alien's back! _(proceeds to bash self over the head with a chair)_

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you for the review. This is the most you have ever written me. I will update as soon as possible and will much more of Panic and Taro 

**Minte:** thanks for the definitions on lime and lemon, really helpful. Hope next time will be a real review too! Thank you 

**Shadowed-Moon2525:** wait, my chapters or yours? Eh, who cares. Alls I knows is that I'm getting lots of good reviews and that ain't bad. By the way, I don't own the Simpsons either for those who know what episode this is from. Oh, sorry, got off track there. Thank you for the review 

Thank you to all my reviewers! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 5: Rise Before the Fall**

On the night of my first exam, I spent the time in my room and thought of what had happened that day. I grinned, remembering the welcoming that Mutsumi, Naru and I had received from the rest of the Hinata Crew and the party that followed after. The three of us argued that we still had another day of exams to finish, but the others didn't listen anyway, they wanted to party. Well, more like it was an excuse for Kitsune to get wasted and she played on the others' wanting to celebrate our triumphant return in order to achieve her desires. 

I then grimaced slightly at what had happened during the party after Kitsune had gotten some alcohol in her system. She, Su and Sarah had ganged up on me and had force-fed me food and booze until I was wasted and nearly unconscious. I held my stomach in discomfort. It was still trying to recover from being expanded in such a small amount of time. 

I chuckled and picked up my book. Those guys... Okay, back to work... Let's see, I think I did pretty good today. In fact, I was sure I nailed the first section. If I could just keep it up, I might actually get a good grade. Then, I would be a Tokyo U. student. My dream would finally come true. I could fulfill my promise to Naru. 

"Knock, knock! Hey, Keitaro, you still up?" Speak of the devil. 

"Hey, Naru," I responded. "Yeah, I'm up." 

Naru's head popped down in the hole connecting our rooms. She was clutching her stuffed toy, Liddo-kun, in her arms. "I'm having trouble falling asleep, so do you mind if I come down and talk to you for a bit?" 

I smiled. "Sure, that's cool." 

She got up and moved to go through the hole. "Okay, here I come." She took a step and slipped on the edge of the hole. "Huh? Wahhh!" She fell through it quite clumsily and plummeted towards the floor below. Oh crap! If I didn't catch her, she could be severely hurt! 

"Ahhhh! I got you!" I lunged forward to catch her and she fell in between my arms, her back on one arm, the crook of her legs on the other. Her arms conveniently fell around my neck, and so I ended up holding her in a bridal style fashion. We both blushed and I set her down on the floor. 

"Umm, thanks," she said. 

"Y-you're welcome." We stared at the floor blushing until I heard Naru giggling. "What's so funny?" I asked. 

"Nothing," she giggled. "Just after all the stuff we've been through lately, we're still embarrassed things like this." She giggled at my confused and shook her head. Then she stopped shaking her head and fixed on me with a seductive smile. I quivered at the slowly simmering fires I saw in her eyes. Was this the punishment she had promised me? If it was, then I liked it. 

She got on her hands and knees and slowly begun to crawl over to me. I was transfixed by the steamy glare she was giving me. I couldn't even move as she put one hand on my folded knee. She moved the hand slowly up my leg to my waist, and then up my side, barely touching, until she reached my shoulder. I was still frozen as she made the same trip with her hand on my other side. 

She leaned forward and I nervously licked my lips. "Close your eyes," she breathed. I did and felt something soft press against my lips. My heartbeat tripled and I fell into the moment. 

"Myuh." 

Myuh? I opened my eyes to see... Tama-chan. Her flipper was raised in greeting and she was blushing prettily. I looked, horrified, at Naru who was grinning viciously and holding Tama-chan in front of her. 

My mind flashed through several emotions repeatedly. Horror, disgusted, freaked out, surprised and amused. It settled on amusement. Oh, so she wanted to play like that? Fine, I could play that too. I grinned back and took Tama-chan from Naru's hands. She looked at me questioningly until I raised Tama-chan to my lips and kissed her again. Tama-chan sighed with a "myuh," and I smirked as I placed her on my head. I glanced at Naru who looked at me strangely and I smiled winningly. "You know, I actually thank you for this." She tilted her head, confused. I smirked and said, "It showed that maybe I should go out with her instead. She certainly kisses better than you." 

I chuckled at her fuming face. "What's wrong?" I asked innocently. "You little revenge backfire?" She simply harumphed and turned around. I definitely struck a nerve. That's what I was aiming for, wasn't it? Actually, I wasn't too sure. I never really did things like this. Of course, neither did Naru. We were both changing a lot. A whole, whole lot. 

But it looked I had to set things right. I took Tama-chan off my head and placed her on the table. "Sorry, Tama-chan," I whispered to her. "But I like Naru kissing me a lot more. I hope you understand." Tama-chan just waved a flipper and myuhed as if to say, "Ah, forget it." I smiled and patted her on the head. She the jerked her head towards Naru, and I swear that I saw her wink slyly before she flew out of my room. Apparently she thought something was going to happen between me and Naru that she should not see. Well, I couldn't disappoint her, now could I? 

I moved over to her and snaked my arms around her waist. She bristled slightly and I smirked. So she was still angry? I'd have to fix that, wouldn't I? I buried my face in the crook of her neck and breathed in the sweet fragrance of her hair. I let out a little amount of air out of my mouth and felt her melt a little as it moved across her skin. I nudged her body backwards and she shifted into my waiting lap. Good, so she wasn't that angry with me. I was happy. I nuzzled into her neck, planting a kiss on it. 

I took my lips off her neck and gently placed them near her ear. "Naru?" 

"Hmm?" She had her eyes closed and a soft smile had replaced the scowl that was previously on it. 

"I just wanted you to know..." I moved my lips to kiss her along her jawbone. She shuddered and I smiled into her soft flesh. "That your kisses are just fine..." My hand had found its way into her shirt and I was rubbing my thumb in circles around her navel. "And that I hope..." I began to lean back. Naru followed. "That the only lips I ever feel on mine..." I kissed the corner of her mouth. "Are yours." 

I turned her head and gently pressed my lips against hers. Naru sighed into my mouth as she leisurely turned around, circling her arms around my neck. The kiss wasn't heavy or passionate. It didn't inflame raging desires like Naru's seductive movements from before. It was sweet, chaste and simple. But it showed all of our feelings for each other still. The love projected from our intimate interactions was warm enough to melt ice. 

I slid my tongue across Naru's soft lips, asking for permission to play with hers. She responded mutually, parting her lips so that I could partly stick my tongue in her mouth. There she gently touched it with hers, and I could taste her. She tasted so sweet, and I enjoyed her taste more than anything I've ever tasted before. I moved one hand from her waist to cup her cheek tenderly. I could feel her smile into me. 

Since we were lying down on the floor, I rolled us over so that I was on top. My weight settled in on her, and I felt her body press up against mine. God, this woman was like a mountain road, all curves. I could feel her breasts, muted by the clothing between us, pressing into my chest. I wanted to touch her so badly, but I wasn't going to do anything about it. After all, I was still a coward when it came to that, and since we weren't losing ourselves in a wild fit of passion, I would let her take the initiative. But I could still be near her, right? The other hand on her waist lazily made its way up her side to rest right below her armpit where I could feel the swell of her nicely sized breast. 

The hand cupping her cheek moved off to one of her arms encircled around my neck. I removed one of her hands and gently interlaced it with mine. Doing so, I then broke off the kiss from Naru. She looked at me quizzically until I moved our entwined fingers to my lips and kissed every one of hers. She looked at me warmly and let out a giggle that simply melted my heart. 

Her head turned to look at the hand near her breast. She then looked at me with an eyebrow raised and a playful look on her face. I blushed and moved my hand back to her waist. Okay, she still wasn't ready for that step yet. I could live with that. 

Boy, was I wrong. 

Naru stopped my hand and raised it to her lips. She turned the palm to her and planted a kiss upon it. She was looking up at me the entire time, and I could see the love radiating from her eyes. "It's okay, Kei." She then began to move my hand down her body. I gulped. Was she serious? "As long as it's you..." My hand was now in the valley of her breasts. She blushed at the contact, but continued on. "I'm fine." She moved it to the side, and now my hand was on her breast, her hand laying on top of mine. 

My heart stopped. She was so soft. This was on of the first time I was actually touching her in that region and not being ejected into orbit immediately afterward. I hesitantly squeezed it very gently. Naru whimpered slightly. "How does it feel? Is it okay?" She asked nervously. How did it feel? It was... Then I looked into her eyes. I saw the anxiety and fear contained within them. She was afraid, afraid that I would reject her. My mind chuckled. And here I was afraid to make any move on her, thinking that she would reject _me_. 

I took my hand off of her breast and gently caressed her face. Her face drooped in anticipation of my rejection. I smiled and moved my head down to rub my nose against hers. Naru's eyes closed. "My Naru..." Her eyes flew open. "My dear, darling Naru..." I kissed her gently on the lips. "It's perfect," I mumbled through her lips. "Everything I hoped it would be." I moved to her forehead. "Everything I thought it would be." To her cheeks. "Everything I knew it would be." Back to her lips. "Just perfect. 

"Thank you." I looked at her. Her eyes were watery and a happy smile was on her face. I was glad that I had said the absolutely right thing for once. I smiled back and rolled off to her side. When I did, I pulled her to my chest and held her close to me. Her legs found their way through mine, and she placed her hands on my chest, resting her cheeks on it. I smiled and kissed her hair. 

"No need for thanks," I murmured to her. "It's just the truth. Just the absolute truth." Naru let out an "Uh-huh" and snuggled closer. I tightened my hold on her slightly and sighed. Somewhere along the night we fell asleep like that, an actual sleeping beauty held in my arms. It was all I ever needed. 

***** 

The first thing I saw when I woke up was a pair of brown eyes staring right at me. They were filled with such love and warmth that I couldn't help but be mesmerized by them. That's when I realized that if there were eyes, there had to be a face for them to be on. And in that respect, that face had to be attached to a body. And if that was the case, then I had a very warm, soft and feminine body contained within my arms. My sub-conscious never had a chance. 

My panic system blew by and ordered me to do something, anything, to keep my self-preservation. I jerked my head back from the pair of eyes and winced when I banged it on one of the legs of my table. I took my hand and gingerly placed it on the lump that had formed with my connection with the hard wood. I don't know why I was so worried about the lump. It's not like it was all that uncommon for me to get them. 

I heard a giggle and finally it was Naru that I held. I tensed slightly, but then she kissed my throat and I remembered last night. I relaxed and Naru kissed me again, but this time on the lips. After a few seconds, she giggled again. I looked at her and she smiled. "Morning breath," she whispered. 

I blushed. "Sorry." That was kinda embarrassing to be told. 

She leaned up and looked at me. "Like I care." 

It was a while before we came up for air. 

When we did finish, I looked at her in amazement. "Wow." She giggled again and nuzzled into my chest. I tightened my grip on her and slid one hand up inside the back of her shirt to feel her silken skin under my fingertips. "So," I murmured. "How long have you been awake?" 

"Half-a-hour." 

"Doing what?" 

"Just watching you. You're so cute when you sleep. Like a little puppy I just want to cuddle." 

"Isn't that what we're doing now?" She responded by pulling me closer and kissing my nose. "I guess it is." She smiled and nuzzled back into my chest. God, she was so soft and warm. My hand began to roam her back and came in contact with her bra. One little nudge and I could... No, must move away from things like that. I decided to strike up a conversation again. 

"What time is it?" 

"Six A.M." 

I was surprised. "You've been awake since five-thirty just watching me?!" I whispered hurriedly. 

"Is that wrong?" she sighed dejectedly. She hugged me closer and I knew I had done something wrong. "Is it really wrong?" 

"No!" I whispered loudly. Frankly, I was very flattered that she would do something so sappy like this. It was just that... Well, the Naru I knew would probably never do something like this... ever. But how exactly could I say that without hurting her feelings? The answer was I couldn't. But me being the bumbling fool that I am, I tried nevertheless. "It isn't... I mean... I don't think..." 

"I'm sorry." She moved to get up and my mind froze. I didn't want her to leave, didn't want her to ever go away from me. I wanted her to be held in my arms, to kiss her, to touch her. I wanted to make sure that she would always be by my side. And so I did the first thing my mind thought of. Neither my panic system nor my sub-conscious ever saw it coming. It came from a more primal part of my mind, a part that wanted to make sure that what was its wouldn't go away. 

Before she could get away, I pushed her back to me and captured her lips in a hungry kiss. I put all of my passion into it, trying to convey my feelings for her. Naru seemed shock before she gave into my onslaught. Her eyes closed and she moaned as our tongues battled for dominance. I won, pushing her tongue back into her mouth. She responded by catching mine between her teeth and sucking on it. Oh, so she thought that she could stop me, eh? 

Removing my hands from her shirt, I rolled her onto her back and pinned her to the floor. Naru gasped slightly and let go of my tongue. We both opened our eyes and she looked at me anxiously. I smiled tenderly and interlaced both of her hands with mine, pinning them to the floor before covering her mouth with mine again. This time she only whimpered softly as I ran my tongue along her teeth, memorizing how they felt. God, she was so sweet, like a candy. And I knew exactly what her flavor was. She tasted of strawberries and vanilla. I wasn't sure whether it was artificial or natural, but frankly, I didn't care. I just wanted to taste her. 

Wanting that, I stopped kissing her mouth and began to kiss her throat. Naru moaned loudly and I stopped to raise my head and look at her. Dear God, she was ravishing. Her deep brown eyes sparkled with lust and love, the two so intertwined with the other that I couldn't tell the difference between them. Her eyes were so slowly simmering that they made me just want to kiss her again and again. Her soft, silky auburn hair was spread across the floor, perfectly framing her slightly flushed face. Her swollen lips from our recent 'battle' were pursed slightly, as if begging for more. 

I stared at this beauty underneath me in awe. Her I was, laying on top of a busty, gorgeous young woman, kissing her passionately, and she was actually enjoying it. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Damn, you are hot!" I froze. Oh great, that would break the mood. I closed my eyes to await her attack, but all I felt was small, wet object on my cheek. Opening my eyes, I saw Naru tentatively licking my cheek. Wait... she was licking it?! That was so... so... I don't know what it was, but it was definitely something! 

Naru giggled coyly at my shocked expression. She then brought my head back down to hers. Holding my face between her hands, she lightly licked my lips once, twice, before kissing me as hard as she could. After we stopped, Naru buried her face into my neck and cooed, "Normally I would kill you, but now... I'll let you slide." She then began placing nipping kisses along my neck. I shuddered a little. 

Feeling a little braver from her actions, I whispered into her ear, "If you'll let it slide, then can _I_ try something?" I don't know why I said that, but after what she did, I wanted to try to take the initiative. Not only that, but I just really wanted to... touch her. Call me a pervert, I don't care. Naru's eyes widened, and I was afraid she'd say no until she nodded ever so slowly. I mentally danced in victory and grinned widely at her expectant look. "Close your eyes," I whispered huskily. 

She did so and I leaned down to begin gently nibbling at her lips. Naru whimpered in disappointment, as I did nothing but tease her lips with my teeth and tongue before moving onto her earlobe. There I caught it between my teeth and tugged on it, causing her to gasp in pleasure. I smiled. So... her ears were sensitive. I'd have to keep that in mind for next time. Her hands had moved to the back of my head and she tangled her fingers in my hair. 

All the while, my hand had made its way to her waist and into her shirt. I laid my palm flat on her stomach and slowly ground it into her. Naru moaned and I smiled again before making a trail of nipping kisses down her neck like she had before. Naru's breath became shorter and faster as I lightly bit her skin and then soothed it over with my tongue. Her moans became louder and more frequent as I then sucked at her pulse, my hand still grinding into her stomach. I felt proud that I was having this effect on her. 

Finally, I stopped grinding and lightly skimmed my palm up her front to cup her breast through her lacy bra. Naru's surprised gasp was cut short as I kissed her firmly. My fingers moved to the valley of her breasts and I lightly plucked at her bra while rubbing my thumb up and down the soft flesh of her chest. Naru moaned again, but this time with words. 

"Kei... Keitaro... please, mmm... don't do that..." 

I stopped in my tracks. Oh no, don't tell me I was doing something wrong... Please, I thought that she was enjoying this. Looking at her with a slightly depressed look on my face, I began to remove my hand from her shirt. "I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to..." 

"No!" Naru brought me back into a passionate kiss that nearly blew my mind. She plunged her tongue into my mouth as she crushed her lips against mine. Her fingers rubbed through and I unconsciously gripped her breast in my hand. Naru moaned, broke off the kiss and stared at me hungrily. "I didn't say stop... just... don't tease me." She then lifted one leg and laid it across my waist. Her face burst into a lustful grin at my shocked expression. "I don't like to be teased," she purred. 

I gulped. She wasn't serious, was she? If she was... I don't know what I'd do. Probably have a heart attack. "How... how far can I go?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. How far did _she_ want to go? That was the question. 

"Well," she giggled sweetly, twisting her fingers in my hair. "I... don't think I'm quite ready for all the way." I chuckled nervously. Yeah, I don't think I was quite ready for that either. Naru smiled and continued. "I don't think I'm ready for third base just yet either." I gulped. "Just yet." Those simple words brought much anxiety to me. Did that mean that she would want to go that far in the not-so-far-away future? 

But then my thoughts were interrupted as Naru gained a wicked smile and then French-kissed me. My eyes widened in surprise before they closed and I kissed her back passionately. Naru gasped when I pinned her back down and then brazenly flipped her bra cups, baring her large breasts. Surprised at my own actions, I stopped and looked at her. She grinned ferally. "You don't waste time when given permission, do you?" 

I just smiled back at her. I shook my head and then leaned down next to her ear. "No, especially when I have such an exquisite example of a female giving it." I then kissed her lips gently, tenderly. Naru purred and pulled me closer to her, opening her mouth so that we our kiss could go deeper. During this, I moved my hands down to the hem of her shirt and took a firm grip on it. I stopped and looked her straight in the eyes. I was going to warn her. I didn't want to do something that she would hate me for afterward. "Naru?" I raised her shirt slightly. "May I?" 

She answered by raising her hands above her head. She smiled at me with such trust and love, I couldn't help but engage her in a passion-filled kiss as I slowly pushed her shirt up her body, only breaking it when the fabric prevented it. I leaned up and looked at her. I nearly groaned... no, scratch that, I _did_ groaned I saw her round, pert breasts lying on top her chest. Her nipples were pink and taut with arousal and looking at them, I wanted nothing more than to taste them. 

But no, I couldn't do that right now. First, I would just appreciate the view. I sat up straight and straddled her, splaying my hands on her flat stomach, I gently rubbed circles around her navel. Naru giggled slightly and I grinned at my discovery. So she was also ticklish... That could be useful for when she was angry with me. Her giggling quickly turned to soft moaning however when I firmly grasped her breasts and gave tem a slight squeeze. 

"Ohhh... Kei... please... be gentle... because..." 

"Shh... I know... you'll kill me..." I then ground my hips into hers for a spur of the moment. I don't know why, it was probably from one of my porno books. But Naru seemed to enjoy it because she moaned even louder and I felt a sudden warmth between her legs. This of course had an effect on me. Naru's eyes widened in surprise and I blushed. "Sorry," I murmured. 

"For what?" I just looked down bashfully and comprehension dawned on her face. Well, what could I say? "Kei..." I looked back to see Naru smiling softly. "Kei, you're sitting on me while I'm half-naked and fondling me. If you're not getting a reaction out of this, I'd have to say there was something wrong with you or me." 

I shook my head forcefully. "No! That's not it. It's just that I'm still not used to this." To illustrate, I gently caressed one of her breasts. Her eyes closed and a soft moan escaped her lips. I stopped and she looked at me with disappointment. I chuckled quietly. "I still have feelings of doubt that if we do this, I'll find myself in the lower stratosphere." I was right, you know. This was the first time we were this intimate. I was... scared, to put it frankly. Scared that she would still reject me. 

"Kei..." Naru bit the edge of her bottom lip and looked at me with a hint of shame. "I'm sorry I did those things. But you know why I did, right?" 

Smiling a little bit, I nodded and said, " Because you're a violent goddess who loathes perverted males who try and grope her?" 

She blushed. "Among other things." She then took both of my hands and held them to her breasts, her hands lying on top of mine. I blushed a little at her fowardness, but kept them where they were. Naru smiled tenderly. "But also because... to tell the truth, I was afraid of relationships. I've never been good at girlfriend stuff, and..." 

"Naru..." She looked up at me bashfully. I just smiled at her awkwardness. I was so happy that she was opening up to me like this. She was my world, I was glad she would let me explore her. Cliché, I know, but... still. I leaned down and nuzzled her throat. Naru gasped slightly as I spoke into her soft flesh. "Naru, I think you are a wonderful girlfriend. You're beautiful, smart, caring... I could go on and on. When I first met you, I think you would be great for anyone... as long as you didn't kill the person trying to make the advances on you. If you're worried, don't be. I love you. You might have a short temper, but you're a very sweet person otherwise." 

"Keitaro..." 

"Shh... stop worrying, Naru. I don't want you to worry. I never want you to worry. I just want you to be happy. Please, let me make you happy." I moved my head down until it was slightly between her breasts, my breath hot in her valley. Naru moaned and moved her hands back to my head. Arching her head back up, she pushed my head farther into her chest while rubbing her fingers in my hair. My face was totally enveloped by her breasts and I groaned as the feel and smell of her soft skin nearly overwhelmed me. 

She felt so good, smelt so good. I groaned again and began to trail kisses up one of her breasts. Naru moaned again and pushed harder. Damn, this was so good, but if I didn't do something, I was going to suffocate in her ample cleavage! I moved my hands to remove hers from my head and pinned her wrists above her head. Naru whimpered and I realized I was gripping them a little too hard. I loosened my hold a tiny bit and kissed her breast as an apology. She purred in approval and I smiled into her silky flesh. God, this was so _great_! 

I leaned up and focused my attention on her face. Her entire was flushed and she was beginning to pant heavily. Oh good, she was enjoying this. Good... because so was I. I then decided to go one step further. I smiled wickedly at Naru and stared back at me anxiously. Lowering my head, I caught one of her peaks in my mouth and suckled on it gently. Naru threw her head back and let out a tiny scream, but quickly stopped it when she bit her lip. Instead, a loud, low moan escaped from her as she arched into my face, trying to be as close as possible. 

I grinned inwardly at this form of almost begging and complied when I opened my mouth wider, trying to take as much of her breast as I could into my mouth. I released her wrist on her other side to then gently knead at her other breast. Her freed hand immediately clutched at the table leg we were near, an I saw her knuckles turn white as she tightly gripped it. I kept my eyes on her face. Her eyes were screwed shut, she was biting hard on her lip and her face had a look of pure pleasure on it. I grinned inwardly again and focused my attention back on her breast. 

Alternately sucking on her like a babe and flicking her peaks with my tongue, I quickly felt her nipple turn rock hard. During this time, my legs had found their way between hers and I was grinding my hips against hers. She responded by circling her strong legs around my waist and pulled me closer to her, my groin grinding into her heat. I released my hold on her breast and groaned loudly as I felt my erection strain almost painfully. God, I wanted to be inside her now! But then I looked at her again, and saw that her lip was slightly bleeding. She must've been biting it to keep from screaming. 

It was then I realized at the position we were in. I wanted Naru so badly, and the way she was moaning my name made it seem like her previous statement was totally negated. If we did... make love, I don't think she would have been too resistant. That thought almost made me continue. But then I looked into her eyes as she opened them slowly and I saw the innocence contained within them. No, she still wasn't ready. And I realized, at that moment, that I wasn't ready either. We still had to pass our exams. I still had to keep my promise to her. Not to mention the fact that everyone was just waking up and I _think_ that they would have heard screams and other... unearthly noises coming from my room. I shuddered slightly at the thought of the possible result. 

Naru looked up at me nervously. "Kei? Why did you stop?" 

I looked back at her. "Because I think we should." 

Naru eyes teared up slightly and she turned her head to look away from me. Her cheeks puffed out in a pout. "Why? Am I not good enough? Not pretty enough? Breasts not big enough for you?" I was speechless. How could she think that? Of course I though that she was good enough! But then I remembered how Naru tended to overreact with most things I said. She probably did think I thought she wasn't good enough for me. But that wasn't true. That would never be true. She would _always_, be good enough for me. In fact, she would always be more than I deserved. 

I glared at her. How dare she think I would ever think little of her! She was everything to me! "Naru, look at me," I said firmly. She just kept looking away. Okay, now I was getting angry. I put my hands on both sides of her face and turned her to face me, but she still kept her eyes averted. "Naru, look at me," I repeated. She finally moved her eyes to glare at me angrily. I sighed. "Naru," I started. "Yes, you're good enough. Yes, you're pretty enough. Yes, your breasts are big enough. Yes, you're beautiful. Yes, you're sexy. Yes, you're attractive. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Naru looked at me with a little awe as I panted from my tirade. "Quite frankly, I would love nothing more than to make love to you till I pass out from exhaustion." 

Her eyes widened and she tried to talk, but I interrupted her by placing a thumb upon her lips. I rubbed them gently, and Naru closed her eyes as a lazy smile crossed her face. I smiled back and leaned down until I was nuzzling her nose. She giggled and I smiled even wider. "Naru?" 

"Uh-huh?" 

"Don't you _ever_ believe that I think you are not good enough for me. You will _always_ be good enough for me. You are more than I will ever need. I love you, Naru, and don't you _ever_ think otherwise." I finished my speech by gently kissing her lips. Naru sighed happily and lazily hung her arms around my neck. I smiled and pulled away. She looked at me, disappointed. I merely smiled back and said, " I think you should get dressed now. Unless you don't want to..." I suggestively caressed her breast. 

Naru took a quick breath of air. It seemed like she was still sensitive. It also seemed like she was still fairly aroused with what she did next. Looking at me slyly, she leaned up and whispered into my ear, "Fine... but only if _you_ do it." 

I looked back at her. She was serious. Oh well, whatever my goddess wanted, she would get. But I could still have some serious fun with her. Taking my hands off her face, I moved them to grip her legs. "Alright... but unless you move these, there's gonna be more undressing instead." She reluctantly did, and I grinned before cupping her breasts again. 

Naru moaned and arched into my fingertips. "I... I thought that you said we were done," she moaned softly. 

"I did," I grinned. "But I wanted to sat good-bye to these beauties first." 

"Why?" 

"Because I probably won't be seeing them for a while." 

"You just might if you behave." 

"Is that a promise?" 

"Maybe." Naru whispered, smiling slyly 

"I don't know..." I said, leaning down to one of her breasts, my mouth dangerously close. Naru watched in anticipation. "I have to know for sure..." She shuddered as my hot breath raced across her still sensitive nipple. "Is it a promise?" She remained silent so I gently kissed her bright pink bud. Naru gasped, and I leaned back to look at her while softly massaging the breast I had just kissed. "Are you sure?" Still no response, so I repeated the same action on her other breast and was now kneading both sides of her chest. I saw her strain no to moan as she tightly gripped the table leg. I chuckled, glad I could inflict this sweet torture on the woman I loved. I think fantasizing all the time about her had an effect on me. 

"C'mon, Naru... tell me, yes or no?" She still didn't answer. Okay, time put to use some of the information I just learned to use. Still kneading her chest, I leaned down to catch her earlobe between my teeth and tugged on it while gently tonguing the very tip. Naru moaned softly, but it still wasn't enough for me. I wanted more. Not so much as sex, but I wanted to hear her moan. A deep, primal part of me wanted to know of its lover's pleasure wanted to hear its lust-ridden sounds, and quite frankly, the rest of my mind didn't want to argue. Her voice, her sounds... I wanted to hear them. 

"Naru," I whispered huskily. "Make your sounds for me. I want to hear them. Whimper, moan, scream, I don't care. Just make them, or I'll give you a _real_ reason to make them." Her last barriers must have been broken from that threat because she let out a very high-pitched, loud scream. I grinned widely. So she finally made it. Gooood... very good. I quickly stopped her scream by passionately kissing her. To my pleasure, her scream stopped, but she continued to moan into my mouth as I pressed her to my body. My fingers tangled themselves in her hair and I tilted her head back so as to deepen even more our liplock. 

Eventually, we slowed down, but I could not stop completely so I kept on placing butterfly kisses on her swollen lips. Naru just kept moaning softly, lying like putty in my arms, her eyes shut and panting heavily. "Naru... my goddess, my angel, my love, my everything." I tilted her head again and began to suck at her pulse. God! I just couldn't get enough of her. She was like some exotic dish, one that I wished that I could never stop tasting. 

"Kei... Kei... Kei-ta-ro..." 

"Did I make you happy, my love?" 

She nodded, her eyes still closed. "Y-yes." 

"Did you enjoy it?" 

"Yes." 

"Then can I touch you whenever I want?" She shook her head no. I smiled. Okay, so she wasn't totally thinking incoherently. "Can I touch you when we're alone?" She nodded again. I kissed her lips, and she whimpered as she leaned forward when I leaned back. Oh, so she wanted more? Who was I to object? I gladly covered her mouth with mine and was surprised to find no battle waiting for my tongue when it entered her mouth. I stopped to look at her and she just smiled softly. 

I was slightly shocked. Naru actually chose to give up dominance to me. The fiery beauty had chosen not to put up a fight. That was a first. It was then I realized that I had acted a lot more aggressive than usual. Not only had I taken command, but I had also pinned her to the ground, partly undressed her and tortured her mercilessly with foreplay. I grinned wickedly at her soft, lustful expression. "You know what?" I growled. "I think I could get used to this." 

"You little pervert." 

"Maybe..." I smirked. "But you seemed to enjoy it. Now..." I slowly stood the both of us to our feet and crushed Naru to my body, one hand still tangled in her hair and the other tightly gripping her waist. "About me dressing you. Will this be the only time?" 

"Maybe." 

"Is that a promise?" 

"Are you going to grope me if I say no again?" 

"I thought you enjoyed it." 

"I did, but... I'm kind of hoping you don't do that every time we argue. I might have to beat you to a pulp." 

"Oh, really?" A wicked idea came to mind, and after our little make-out session, my still lust-induced state made me act on it. Quickly taking my hands off of their various places, I moved them to her butt cheeks and lifted her off the ground. Naru gasped before moaning loudly. As if by their own volition, her legs wound around my waist yet again, pulling her to me. Our lips met in a powerful kiss and after we stopped, we were gasping for air. "I think I might have to take that chance," I chuckled. "I believe I'm becoming addicted to the feeling of your flesh." 

"The feeling's mutual," Naru giggled. I grinned and leaned in to kiss her again. She stopped me. "Whoa, lover boy. First get me dressed." I sighed. Well, it wasn't as good as making out, but if I could still touch her, I was happy. Setting her back on her feet, I went to get her shirt. When I got back, Naru had set her bra and winked at my disappointed look. Damn, I was hoping to touch her some more. Oh well... I could still have fun though... heh, heh. 

Naru raised her arms and I slowly put her shirt on her. I tried to make sure my fingers lingered on her skin for as long as possible, and she shivered as my fingers grazed down her slender arms, skimmed over her round breasts and landed softly on her rolling hips. When her head finally appeared from her shirt, I pulled her to me and nuzzled her cheek to mine. "My goddess," I murmured, wrapping my arms around her waist. 

"My little pervert," sighed Naru, encircling her arms around my neck. We stayed like that for a while until she spoke. "Keitaro, you know I love you with all my heart, right?" 

I looked at her and hugged her to me. She buried her head in my chest and I laid my head on hers. Rubbing my hands up and down her back, I sighed. "I know, Naru," I murmured. "I know." 

***** 

The two of us finally left together for the second day of the exams. As we made our way to the trolley, Naru inspected the new lump that had formed on my head. After our, huh-hem, romantic interlude, Su and Sarah had crashed into my room knocking us both down on the floor. Of course, according to my horrible relationship with Lady Luck, the rest of the tenants found us in a position that I'd rather not discuss at the moment. 

Anyway, we were both embarrassed beyond belief, and it didn't help with Kitsune's next comment. As if it weren't enough that Motoko was about to main me, Kitsune had actually heard parts of our little time together (she lives right next to me) and had insinuated about it. This of course caused a chain reaction that landed me in the hot springs, half-conscious and the entire Hinata crew questioning Naru. It was a nightmare... But you know, I'm surprised they didn't catch us last night. Eh, that's just life, ya know? 

Naru parted my hair to look at my lump, and I winced at the sharp twang of pain when she touched it. "You know," I muttered. "You didn't have to strangle me right after I gained consciousness. It's bad enough Motoko nearly cut off the use of my lower body." 

"Well I'm _sorry_!" Naru said back. "But do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to have the others ask me all those awkward questions? Kitsune asked me how you were hung!" 

I snorted. "Well, lucky for me I was drowning in a hot spring after falling a hundred feet from your added punch." I winced again as I patted my lump. "Thanks for this by the way." 

Naru's face softened. "Aww, poor, Kei. Does he want Naru to kiss it and make it all better?" Damn it, she was so amazingly cute when she scrunched up her face and talked in a baby voice like that. 

I nodded and Naru stood on her tiptoes to reach my temple. A wicked idea came to my mind, and I turned my head just so so that Naru's lips came in contact with mine instead of my head like she was supposed to. I smirked at her surprised look then dodged her swat at me. She tried to punch me again, but when I dodged it again, she discarded that tactic and instead just full-out tackled me to the ground. I felt the air rush out of my lungs and I looked at her, slightly annoyed. "Was that really necessary?" 

She looked back at me and grinned. "Yes," she panted. I scoffed and she grinned again before picking herself up and dusting herself off. I stood up beside her and began to walk again. I was annoyed and also disappointed that after what had happened in my room, she was still embarrassed of what we did in public. Of course, what we did was in the privacy of our own rooms, but still... I did want to know if she was ever going to let me be affectionate towards her in public. 

Then I felt her circle her arms around my neck and pull me back. "Hey, what's wrong?" She whispered in my ear. I shook my head and tired to walk off again. I know it sounds childish, but still, she was my girlfriend after all. I deserved some privileges, didn't I? Go on, yell at me. I still wanted it. Naru stopped me however, when she tightened her grip around me. It was close to a strangling hold. "Keitaro..." She growled. "Come on, tell me." 

I shook my head again. "It's nothing," I murmured. 

Naru then decided to use the tactics that she knew would have an effect on me. She dug her face into the crook of my neck and kissed my collarbone. "Please, Kei?" She then nuzzled her nose into my throat and I groaned in frustration. Ahh, why she'd have to resort to things like this? She knew that I couldn't resist her. Well, maybe that was why she did it. Anyway, I tried to throw her off again. 

Reaching a hand over, I ruffled her hair fondly. "No, really, it's nothing." Naru responded by putting her hands on my shoulders and turning me around. She stared at me and I gulped. "C'mon, Naru. We're going to be late for the-mmph..." My hand went to cup her cheek, the other went around her waist. After we stopped kissing, I looked at her critically. "You did that on purpose didn't you?" She just giggled and looked up at me coyly. I sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you." Her grin widened and she looked at me attentively. 

"I want..." I sighed again. "I want more of this." Her face developed a perplexed look. Oh well, actions do speak louder than words. I leaned down to kiss her again and moved one hand to place it on her rear. She sighed happily and put her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. Yes, this was what I wanted. I might sound greedy, and maybe I am, but I still wanted to know if she was proud of having me as a boyfriend, or at the very least, not be embarrassed by me. In case you haven't noticed, I have really big inferiority complex. I still sometimes think I'm not good enough for her. 

"I don't understand why you want more of this." Naru said as we broke off. "We do a lot of this at home." Oh man, Naru could be just as dense as me sometimes. Now I know why she gets so infuriated with me most of the time. I really am clueless. 

"No," I replied. "I mean in public." She stared at me in shock. Was she so horrified to be affectionate with me in public? Then I realized what she had said from before. She... thought... she thought I wanted to do what we did in my room in public?! Images flashed through my mind and I couldn't help but get a nosebleed. I quickly wiped the small amount of blood from my nose and tried to speak. 

"N-no!" I stuttered. "Not like that!" Though I had to admit, it did add a sense of thrill to it. Argh, no! I wasn't the pervert for once this time, she was! Her! "Geez, Naru, you're being more of a pervert than I am! Ouch!" 

She removed her fingers from my side. "Well, what did you expect me to think, you jerk?!" 

"Not that!" 

"Well, what then?" 

"Nothing! Just..." I looked down and trailed off. How was I supposed to say what I wanted to without sounding needy or desperate? Not that I wasn't needy or desperate... because I was! I was and I didn't care! I needed to know! 

Naru's face softened at my dejected tone. "Just what, Kei?" 

"Just..." I sighed. Might as well bite the bullet and tell her. "Just that I wish that you would be more affectionate with me in public." There, I said it. Now, how would she react? 

"I would, I f you would just not act so damn nervous." 

What?! She did want to be more affectionate? Then what about...? "Then," I said. "What about you swatting at me when I kissed you?" That's right, what about that? 

She punched me on the head lightly. "I was punishing you for tricking me, silly boy," she laughed. "If you wanted a kiss, you should've just asked." 

Oh. So she did want to, but she was just..."I really am an idiot, aren't I?" 

She laughed again. "Yes, you are. Now..." She twirled away from me. "We better get going or we're going to fail the exam without eve trying." I smiled, nodded my head and walked after her. Well, I was happy. I just overreacted, like I do with most things. I sighed again. Maybe I wasn't changing as much as I thought. Then I felt a comforting warmth slip into my hand. I looked down to see Naru's hand in mine. I looked back up to see her smiling. I smiled back nervously and scratched the back of my head. Well, I guess the more things change... 

When we finally made it to the trolley stop, we noticed something. 

"Hey, isn't that the trolley to Tokyo U? 

***** 

"You idiot! I can't believe you made us miss the trolley!" 

"I'm sorry!" 

"Yeah, well..." 

"You can't think of anything to say, can you?" 

"No." 

"Good," I panted. Ugh, I was seriously out of shape. Not training with grandma for six years really had taken its toll on me. I hadn't done any serious laborious activities since I was last with grandma. Even high school gym wasn't exactly strenuous after what I went through. Therefore, running all the way to try to catch the trolley was kinda hard. It didn't help that I was almost literally carrying Naru too. 

"Just be glad I didn't drop you by accident." 

"If you had, I would have punched your lights out." 

"Don't I know it," I muttered it under my breath. 

"What was that?!" 

"Nothing, ma'am!" Naru might be becoming sweeter and softer, (I'm making her sound like a food, aren't I?) but she was still the same Naru. And that person was a violent, over-reactive tomboy. Especially when she got pissed-off, which was often. But hey, I still fell in love with her even with her, ahem, _smal_ faults. If she could love an idiotic pervert like me, how could I not love her? 

"Anyway, it's time to prove our worth and do it!" 

"You seem to have a lot of energy." 

"Running about a mile with a person in your arms will tend to get your blood pressure up." Of course, that might not be a good thing. High blood pressure before an extremely stressful event. That sounds like the perfect recipe for a heart attack or ulcer. And those usually aren't good for anyone. 

Naru laughed at me. "Well then, shall we go?" 

"Yoo-hoo! Na-chan! Kei-kun!" 

I looked up to see Mutsumi waving out of a second-story window. Oh man, I hoped she didn't faint and fall out of it. Falling down two stories to solid concrete would be rather painful, wouldn't it? I should know, I do it on a daily basis. Of course, I usually fall from much higher altitudes and from much more painful launchings. It's those times I _thank_ God that I'm immortal. But then I curse him for putting in those situations in the first place. 

"Looks like this is it!" She shouted down to us. "Good luck to both of you!" 

"Thank you!" Naru shouted back. 

"When this all over, let's me up somewhere!" I yelled. 

"Hey, Mutsumi!" I added. 

"Yes?" 

"Let's all pass this thing together, no ifs, ands or buts about it, okay?!" 

She merely waved and smiled in return. Naru and I waved back and she went back into her classroom. Naru and I then nodded to each other and walked into the building. We went our separate ways when we had to and I made my ways to the room where I would take my second exam in. I made my way to an empty seat, took off my coat and sat down. I took out my mechanical pencil and readied myself for what was to come. 

"Please read the directions quietly as I read them out loud," announced the instructor to the entire class, 

Okay, this was it. This was really it. The end to my giant, frustrating and quite interesting journey. Naru, Mutsumi and I had put our hearts and souls into studying for this very moment. Now was the time for all of our efforts to be judged by whoever was up there in... well, you know. 

"You may now begin." 

I flipped open the book and looked through it. English, math, Japanese, the usual subjects for the exam. And they all seemed pretty simple. My mind froze. They all seemed simple, easy. That meant... that meant... I got it! I really got it! I got all of it! Finally! My four years of unwavering determination finally paid off! 

According to my calculations, if scored around 85% on this section, I should have a high enough combined score to pass. English was my hardest subject, but I was pretty certain I could score over 80% on it... And if that was the case then I was home free! 

'Hey, wait a minute! Slow down, Keitaro. Just think about this calmly for a minute. Otherwise you're bound to burn out like during at the center exams,' my sub-conscious chided at me. 'I don't feel like doing your entire test over again.' 

I gave it a silent thanks. It was right. If I got too excited, I was bound to screw up over it somewhere. I just couldn't help it at first though. I was so happy that I actually got what was going on in the test! Okay, so let's see... My center exam was... Let's see now... I was... And... There was no doubt about it. If I kept this up, then when spring came... My mind drifted off to fantasies... 

It was spring of 2000. Everyone from Hinata House was crowded around me as I looked for my name on the acceptations board. Where was it? I knew it was there. It had to be there! My eyes moved down the list of names and numbers. A35612, no, that wasn't it. A35620, no, still not it. A35628, no, not that either. A356-wait... A35628? My eyes zipped back. My... my number. And unless there was someone else named Keitaro Urashima, that was my name up there. I passed! I passed! 

"There it is, Urashima!" 

"Way to go, sempai! You passed!" 

"Hip hip hurray!" Everyone shouted. They threw me in the air for my victory. "Congratulations, Keitaro!" God, I was so happy that I finally completed my dream. After so many years of torture and hardship, I finally did it. Now I could fulfill my promise. 

"Keitaro..." 

And here she came right now. I could finally tell my promise girl and the woman I loved that I kept our promise. I turned around and there she was, in a beautiful white wedding dress. The light seemed to just emanate from her, making her look like an angel in my eyes. She was just simply gorgeous. "Congratulations. You did it. You finally kept your promise." Yes, I did, didn't I? And now, we would live happily ever after. 

All of a sudden, we were in the chapel. I was in a spiffy tuxedo for my wedding. Naru was in front of me, happiness shining from her eyes. Happiness directed at me. And I was happy because she was happy. As long as she was happy, I was happy. "Oh, Keitaro..." She sighed. 

I took her hands into mine. "I love you, Naru." I said. She nodded. She knew that already, she knew that for a long time. I leaned into kiss her and she closed her eyes, expecting my touch. However, before I could close the distance between us, a slam was heard throughout the chapel. I looked up at the high-placed, stain-glassed window. He stood there, grinning down on us as if he was some all-powerful god. 

"One moment there part-timer!" 

"Seta! How dare you?!" I was furious. How dare he break up such a joyous occasion? I had wanted so long for this to happen, and he wanted to stop it. He would pay for this horrible transgression on Naru's and mine behalf. I would make sure that he would pay. 

"Come, come now, part-timer," he grinned. "I just want you to prove your worth. You know, to make sure that you can protect her and be worth of her. It's nothing too hard. Are you ready...? Fight!" 

"You're on!" I shouted. Just as suddenly as I was in the chapel, Naru, seat and I were in a field being overlooked by a blazing sunset. Our shadows were twice as long as our bodies because of how low the sun was on the horizon. It was a clichéd fighting spot. Seta and I took our spots opposite each other, and then launched ourselves into our fight. 

"Please, stop it!" Naru cried out. "Both of you!" But neither of us listened. We had too much battle lust to care to listen. Flurry upon flurry of punches were landed on each of us. We barely felt any of them though. Finally, our stamina wore out and we collapsed to the ground in a heap. 

"That was a lucky punch, part-timer." Seta panted. 

"You too, Seta." I panted back. 

"Well..." We both pushed ourselves up to our feet. Naru ran over to me and seta began to walk away, raising a hand over his shoulder. "Kid, you've proven that I can safely entrust her to you." He continued in a more threatening tone of voice. "See that you make her happy or I'll be back." 

"Yes, sir!" I turned and put an arm around Naru's waist, my other hand cupping her soft cheek. "Naru..." I murmured gently. 

"Keitaro..." She sighed back. We leaned in to kiss and— 

"—Be advised..." Huh? Oh crap, I fell asleep. Oh well, at least it was only for a little while. I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth and picked up my pencil. Time to go back to work. "You have five minutes remaining." Oh, five minutes remaining? That was plenty of time to finish my test. 

Huh? Wait, five minutes? My eyes roved over my empty answer sheet. Not a single answer was written down. Then everything in my brain froze. Not even my panic system was active. I had five minutes to do an exam that took two hours for an average person to take. I could not... Suddenly, the world around me lost all color and ended up bleached. Slowly, cracks began to appear and my world shattered to jagged pieces and dust right before my eyes. 

N... no... I... just... a... minute... I couldn't of... Not after all I had gone through. Not after all the trauma and horrible events I plodded through to get this far. Not after all of the encouragement I had received from Naru and the others. Not after I worked so hard. But it was true. My worst nightmare had come true. 

I had failed once again. 

A/N: Well, the fifth chapter is done. Poor Keitaro! The series is so cruel to him! Oh well, what you gonna do? If it wasn't, then we wouldn't have a very interesting story, now would we? Anyway, I'm sorry about being late with updates, but I'm seriously lagging with creative juices and am stuck halfway through chapter eight. That, and I just don't want to type up any stories right now. Lazy, ain't I? Anyway, I'll talk to you guys later after the interview. 

Keitaro: _(holds head)_ Gaaahhhh!!! How could you do that?! _(grabs me by the collar and shakes me violently)_ Why! Must! You! Torture! Me! So?! Whhhyyyyy?! 

Me: Wahhhhh! Stop shaking me! I'm the fricking author, you can't do this to me! _(Keitaro drops me the ground)_ Gahhh... _(takes a deep breath)_ That's better. Now... Keitaro, I'm sorry, but any complaints like that have to be directed to Ken Akamatsu. _(turns to audience)_ By the way, Mr. Akamatsu, if by some miraculous event you are actually reading this, I would just like to say I thoroughly enjoy your series. It is my favorite manga ever and I have the entire series. I absolutely love it. If I _at any time_ insult you in any way, you may personally (or send someone over, whatever) come to my house and bash me over the head with my computer monitor until my head caves in. 

Keitaro: _(sweatdrops)_ Jesus, Yamiga, you are one morbid character. 

Me: _(laughs nervously)_ Yeah... guess you could say that. I'm a totally glutton for physical and emotional pain. Heh... I'm psycho, can't help it. 

Keitaro: You've lost it... 

Me: Can't lose what I never had, my friend. 

Keitaro: Right... 

Me: Anyway, ready to meet the others? 

Keitaro: No! 

Me: _(grins evilly)_ Too late... Hey, guys! Come on in! Keitaro wants to tell you something. 

_The rest of the Hinata Crew walks in, including Taro and Panic. Taro is being hugged to death by Shinobu, while Panic has a eccentric Su climbing all over it with tools galore spilling out of her pockets as she continually tinkers with it. Meanwhile, Kitsune, Sarah, Motoko, Mutsumi and Naru are staring at them with strange looks on their faces. Naru then notices Keitaro and a smile burst across her face before she launches herself at him._

Naru: Kei!!!! _(knocks him down to the floor and snuggles into him)_

Sarah: _(sweatdrops)_ Geez, you made her clingy. 

Me: _(sighs)_ People, if I said this once, I've said this a thousand times. I'm following the manga series, and Naru is not only extremely possessive, but also emotionally fragile. So... writing this, I'm actually just fast-forwarding everyone's personalities to the end of the series. _(motions to the happy Naru and anxious Keitaro)_ As you can plainly see. 

Panic: YAMIGA! 

Me: _(jumps)_ Wah! What?! 

Panic: WOULD YOU PLEASE GET SU OFF ME?! I'M GETTING SCARED! 

Me: _(sweatdrop)_ You're a machine! How could you possibly get scared? 

Panic: HOW SHOULD I KNOW?! YOU CREATED ME! BESIDES, SHE HAS A BLOWTORCH AND A POSITRONIC LASER! _(lights flash and it shudders)_ ARGH! NOT GOOD! 

Me: _(looks up at Su)_ Su, get off it now! 

Su: _(grins sheepishly)_ But Yamiga... 

Me: No! No fiddling with my characters! Keitaro, maybe, but mine... not a chance! 

Su: All right... _ (jumps off Panic and walks over to me before latching onto my arm; grins impishly)_ Then can I fiddle with you? 

Me: _(blushes)_ Umm... well... that is... Wait, what? 

Kitsune: Aww, how cute! Yamiga's getting embarrassed! 

Motoko: Yamiga... _(I look at her; she smiles dangerously)_ You try anything, anything at all, and I'll cut off the part that made you. 

Me: _(gulps)_ Yes, ma'am. _(looks over to see Taro grinning like a madman while being bear hugged by Shinobu)_ You look like you're enjoying yourself, Taro. 

Taro: _(smiles wickedly)_ Yes. 

Shinobu: He's sooooo cute! Just like a big teddy-bear! 

Mutsumi: Oh my, yes. Except he looks a lot like Kei-kun. _(everyone sweatdrops)_

Me: Mutsumi, that's because he is Keitaro, or at least a part of his mind. 

Mutsumi: Oh really? I didn't know that. _(everyone facefaults)_

Me: How could you not know that?! I said so last chapter! 

Mutsumi: Oh my, but I wasn't here last chapter. I was passed out. 

Me: Oh. 

Kitsune: Anyway, didn't you say Keitaro had something to tell us? 

Me: Oh, yeah... _(turns to Keitaro)_ Don't you want to tell us, Keitaro? 

Keitaro: _(growls)_ Yamiga... 

Me: What? 

Keitaro: You say anything, and I'll kill you. 

Me: _(sweatdrops)_ Wow, you're not at all like your usual self. _(he glares at me)_ Heh, okay... We'll drop it then. _(he smiles)_

Everyone Else: Hey! 

Me: No! Even though this isn't real, I don't want to be beat up by a fictional character! It's embarrassing! Not to mention I'll be even more mentally screwed up then I already am! _(they all quiet down and look at me nervously)_ Now... _(smiles reassuringly)_ What do you all say? 

Everyone: Please Review! 

Me: Good. 

A/N: Hey, people! Sorry about all of this! I'm gonna try my best to get things out as soon as possible. But school is really rolling now, and... no, no excuses. I will get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Anyway, maybe it's good I waited longer because I got about 5 extra reviews in the past few days. Anyway, I have a special surprise for you guys! When I get 50 reviews (which I think is soon), I'll put out a special chapter dedicated to advertising my other fanfics and some other people's too. Maybe... Anyway, please review, and remember, no flames! 

_Preview! _

Next Chapter: Onward to Pararakelse Island 

I found myself in front of the place of my near and distant memories. The place where so many good things and bad things had happened. The place where I had made a promise to a two-year old girl and met that same girl fifteen years later in the same place. The girl I had fallen in love with. The girl who had fallen in love with me. And not just one girl was there either. Many girls who lived there which I loved each and every one of them in a special way. The place that was constantly swinging between heaven and hell. The place of both my dreams and my nightmares. The infamous girls' dormitory of Hinata Hot Springs: Hinata House... 


	6. Onward to Pararakelse

A/N: Merry Christmas everybody! How are you all doing? I finally updated another chapter of my story! Aren't you all happy? No? Well too bad! Keitaro failed again... damn, Lady Luck don't like this poor man, do she? _(sigh)_ Well, if you don't like it, then read the fricking manga, you dolts! Then you will understand! Oh... it has also been brought to my attention that I update at an extremely slow rate. Well, I have three good reasons for that. One, school is getting really busy and I'm barely home to type up the story. I usually get home around 7 PM, have to do my homework, eat dinner, and write with time I have left (which isn't much by the way.) Two, I type very slowly. I failed nearly all my typing classes and so I use the hunt-and-peck method. Ehh, it works for me. Three... I AM A VERY LAZY JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL WHO DOES THIS ON HIS FREE TIME ALONE. SO IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT... **_TOUGH!_** Ahem... and now a thanks to my reviewers. 

**lilbsbllstar10:** whoa... cool name. Ahem, anyway thank you so much for the wonderful review. The best one, huh? That's amazing. And about the wedding? Maybe, but that's not for a long, long time. 

**Filipino_Sniper:** thank you so much for the review. And I'm really sorry about the update time, but I did explain it in the author's note above. Okay? Cool. Thank you! 

**narugirl2003:** thank you for the review, it was nice. And your story... it's good. I'm not too particular to stories written like a screen play though, but if the storyline's good enough, it makes up for that. Keep at it! 

**Niak:** thank you so much for the wonderful review! Second best, huh? And I'm guessing the best is Mutsumi/Keitaro? Gahhh... why does everyone pair those two together? Sure Mutsumi is better in many different ways (for instance she'd rather kiss Keitaro than punch him) but still, read the first volume and you'll see that even early on, Naru and Keitaro were meant to be together 

**Ami-Chan39:** thank you so much, that's so kind of you! Mature... heh, yeah right! I saw your bio you little liar! And the Spongebob was a dead giveaway... no, scratch that. I watch Spongebob from time to time... even though I do consider him to be satanic at times 

**flonne:** thank you so much for the review! And I'm hoping that the excitement is a good thing... I hope! 

**shadownightkendogirl:** whew! Long name! Thank you so much for the review! Romantic? Yeah, I'm just hopeless when it comes to crap like that. And yeah, I do like Motoko... any particular reason? 

**you know who:** thank you for the review! And yes... I absolutely love the show FLCL! I have the entire series copied onto tape! Ahhh... robots exploding out of a young boy's head while his brother's girlfriend gropes him... such a classic story! Not to mention diarrhea causing curry 

**Boombubble:** wow! Such a detailed review! You really looked into this didn't you? I'm sorry about the plot, don't worry... it's gonna change a lot in the next few chapters, including this one. And about the probing... maybe I am looking too far into this, but it annoyed the hell out of me for those two to take **_12 out of 14 volume_** just to confess their love for each other and the last one was the only one to have good stuff in it. Ugh! Drove me crazy! 

**Lahmikhara:** wow, I keep on impressing people. That's always a good thing I suppose. And ha! Keitaro can't beat me up!............ Well, at least at not your request... I hope. Wah! The reviewers being mean to me! _ (bursts into tears)_

**Android K:** yay! My pre-reader liked my story! Thank you so much for the review! I better as hell see your story posted online quick... or I just might send you a virus... or maybe not. You decide! 

**Shadowed-Moon2525:** so glad to see your stories posted. They're a very good start. Thank you for the review. And I see you're exploiting my invitation to advertise your stuff on my story... not that I mind. _ (holds up a disk with the word "Plague" on it)_ Should I send you your file now then? Or later? 

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you for the review. I will as soon as possible... which is not very soon at all 

**Nutty Al:** thank you for the review! I'm glad you like my lemon! Sorry though, you won't see another one like that for a while however. Things will be speeding up and then come a breaking halt before that happens again. Heh, sorry. And if you do send a virus... (head turns to a demon head like Soun Tendo's) **_I WILL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL AND FEED THE REMAINS OF YOUR LIFELESS BODY TO MY CAT... WHO WILL THEN DRAG YOU OUT AND LEAVE YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THE KITCHEN FLOOR... AND THEN I WILL BE VERY SAD BECAUSE I LOST A REVIEWER_** (head reverts back to normal; sighs) Okay, I'm done 

Thank you to all of my reviewers! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 6: Onward to Pararakelse**

I found myself in front of the place of my near and distant memories. The place where so many good things and bad things had happened. The place where I had made a promise to a two-year old girl and met that same girl fifteen years later in the same place. The girl I had fallen in love with. The girl who had fallen in love with me. And not just one girl was there either. Many girls who lived there whom I loved each and every one of them in a special way. The place that was constantly swinging between heaven and hell. The place of both my dreams and my nightmares. The infamous girls' dormitory of Hinata Hot Springs: Hinata House. 

I sighed unhappily. Should I really even be here? I mean... I did just fail. Oh yeah, that's right. I failed. I flunked my entrance exams, and then bolted from Tokyo U, leaving Naru and Mutsumi behind with no explanation to where I was. I just wandered around Tokyo for about half-a-day, doing absolutely nothing. I was in such a daze that I think most of the people that saw me probably thought I was intoxicated. I must have looked it, the way I was weaving around like a total jackass. Somehow, I made it to the docks and saw a cruise ship just sitting there, waiting to go on its terrific voyage. 

That's when I realized what I had to do. I had to go for a recovery trip. One like the one I took when I failed last time. I needed some time to just forget about things, to just cleanse my soul. It would do me some good. And it wasn't like I was going away forever. I would come back. After all, Hinata House was now my home, and I couldn't just leave my home with no warning. I just needed a vacation. 

At least sneaking in would be easy. It was around midnight and everyone had to be asleep by now. Well, I thought they were because none of the lights were on, and when I looked through the windows, I didn't see any silhouettes waiting to ambush me the second I walked through the door. But I wasn't going to take any chances. I was going to sneak in, grab some travel necessities and sneak back out. And I _wasn't_ going to go back through the halls like I tried to do when I tried to run away my first Christmas at Hinata House. I nearly became a crispy husk of my current self because of it! 

I made my way over to the side of Hinata House where my room was. Unfortunately, the hot spring was between me and the opening that would lead me to my room. Since Su had certain safety procedures (more specifically, her Mecha-tamas) which usually kept any normal person from trying to sneak in. But luckily for me, I was no normal person. Training with grandma did do some good. I could at least jump farther and higher than most people. 

Backing away from the fence containing the hot springs, I readied myself for my running jump. I took off and... well... _ jumped_. Landing on top of the fence, I pushed off and leaped for the boulder midway between the fence and the dormitory. If I didn't time this right, my momentum from the running start would be lost and I would fall. My hand landed perfectly on the boulder and I flipped off of it and for the second-story ledge that was my men's bath. 

Oh man, this felt great. I soared straight through the air, feeling it rush by my face as I gained altitude. I had forgotten how much fun it was to do things like this. Why had I stopped after I finished training with grandma? My answer came soon enough when my head connected with the railing. Oh yeah. Because I'm a klutz and usually end up hurting myself. I bit back a yelp of pain and scrambled back up the side of the dormitory, pulling myself over the railing into the open room. Goddamn it! I hope the girls didn't hear that giant clunking sound! 

I sighed and rubbed my head. Gaaahh... It hurt very much. Well, at least I knew my pain receptors were working properly. That's always a good thing, even if it might cause misery to most. I sighed again and quietly made my way to the door. I silently opened it and walked down the hallway. My foot cracked on a squeaky floorboard and I froze. Crap. Please do not have had anyone hear that. Please? No sounds were heard to respond to the floor's betrayal of me and I let out my bated breath. I moved to go again and came face-to-face with a rather reptilian one. 

"Myuh." 

"Gyaa-" I slapped my hands over my mouth to muffle my startled scream. "Tama-chan!" I whispered frantically. "What are you doing here?" 

"Myu." 

"What am I... ?" I shook my head. No, I wasn't about to argue with a turtle. Even if the turtle had a surprisingly high intelligence like Tama-chan. "Never mind! I've got to get to my room and get out of here!" 

"Myuh?" 

"Why? I don't know why. Wait..." I pointed a finger at her accusingly. "Since when did I start to understand what you say?" 

Tama-chan sweatdropped and began to back away nervously. "My myuh myu..." 

"Last Christmas? Oh yeah... that's right..." I trailed off and waved a hand in front of my face. No, that wasn't important right now. "Never mind," I whispered. "The reason is because I need to go away for a while." She stared with turtle eyes. Wait, can that even be a term? I don't know. She just looked at me really sadly, is that okay? "Don't worry," I whispered. "I'll be back. I just need to get away for a while. I just failed my exams." 

Tama sweatdropped again and a smirk appeared on her face. If turtles could laugh, that's probably what she would have been doing right now. "Myuh?" 

"Oh, shut up!" My voice rose. I shut my mouth quickly and looked around to see if anyone had woken up from my outburst. "Shut up," I whispered again. "I really don't need that right now." 

"Myuh." 

"It's okay." An idea occurred to me. Hey, it could be fun. "Hey, Tama-chan. How about you come with me?" 

"Myuh?" 

"You know, join me in my journey for soul searching and all that crap?" 

"Myuh..." 

"Think about it." I raised an eyebrow and lifted a finger. "No Motoko trying to slay you. No Su trying to make you her next meal." 

It was obvious she was breaking down. "Myu myuh..." 

"You might even meet a nice male turtle friend," I grinned. 

That definitely helped her make her decision. "Myuh!" She nodded her head up and down viciously. I grinned again and waved my hand for her to follow. I tiptoed to my room and crept into it. Tama-chan silently flew in after me. I took out a suitcase and began to pack a few necessary items into it. Let's see... clothes, toiletries, porno magazines (hey, a guy's got needs so don't you dare judge me.) Some more personal things: my photo book, my... I sighed and looked at it. I chuckled as I traced my two photos with Naru. Amazing that I was running away from this. No, not running away, taking a vacation. I sighed again and shut the suitcase. 

Well, that was done. Now to write a note so that the girls didn't think I was kidnapped or dead or something. My hand moved to find a piece of paper and I saw a piece floating in front of my face. I looked up to see Tama-chan floating in front of me with some paper and a pen in her mouth. I smiled and took them from her and began to write. 

_Dear girls, _

I know I might look like a coward, and maybe I am, but I still need to do this. I'm going away for a little while and I don't know when I'm coming back. Please don't look for me as I need to be alone for some time. I can't tell you why I left just because I can't. Don't worry, I will be back. You know I could never leave you girls for too long. Anyway, I'll see you all again. Maybe real soon. 

Keitaro 

With that I found an envelope (once again provided by Tama-chan) and was about to seal it when I thought that I'd better give a personal letter to Naru. After all, she was my girlfriend and she deserved a better explanation or at least a more private letter. I got out another piece of paper and began to write again. 

_Dear Naru, _

Umm, hi, Naru. I hope you won't totally hate me when you read this letter. I don't know exactly what to write considering I've never really written like this to anyone before. I just wanted you to know that I love you and I always will. I'm not running away because of that. Maybe I'll tell you when I get back what happened. I just want you to know I will come back and I'm sorry for any grief I might cause. I love you. Bye. 

Kei 

I folded that letter, sealed it with tape and printed 'Naru' on it in large letters. Then I slid it into the original envelope, and sealed that one. Now where would I put it? The most obvious place would be on my table, but in their soon frantic searchings (or at least I hoped they would frantic) they might not see it. That left another option that both pleased and scared me. 

I got up onto my table and stood up, pushing my arms up to lift the plywood to Naru's room. I hauled myself into her room with the letter clenched between my teeth and moved over to where Naru was sleeping. There she was, sleeping on her futon peacefully. She looked so cute and innocent when she slept, like an angel. Funny she was almost never this at peace when she was awake. 

I smiled at her resting form. She was so beautiful. It was too bad I wouldn't be able to see her beautiful face for what could be a long time. But if I didn't do this now, I wouldn't be able to do it at all. I sighed and put the letter right on her dresser where she'd have to find it unless she decided to go out in her pajamas. Okay, that was done, so... might as well give my last goodbyes. I bent over, moved the hair covering her forehead and brushed my lips against it. "Good-bye, Naru," I murmured to her. "I'll be back. Don't worry." I leaned back up to go and the next thing I knew, Naru captured my head between her hands and shoved it into her breasts. 

"Keitaro..." She sighed in contentment. Meanwhile, I was frozen with shock and fear. Shock because of what she did and that she was actually dreaming of me. Fear because even though Naru loved me and wanted me to touch her. I don't think that the first thing she'd want to see when she woke up was my head wedged between her dirty pillows. When the situation actually started to catch up with me, my mind began to have a war within itself. 

[WARNING!] My panic system blared. [NOSEBLEED IMMINENT! RELEASE SINUS... ] 

'Shut up!' My sub-conscious yelled, smashing it with a sledgehammer. 'Don't do it!' 

[WARNING!] 

'Shut Up!' 

WHAM! 

[WARNING!] 

'SHUT UP!' 

SMASH! 

[WARNING!] 

'Shut up! Shut Up! SHUT UP!!!' 

WHAM! BASH! CRASH! 

[GRR... WARNING SYSTEM MUST DESTROY INTOLERABLE VARIABLE OF KEITARO SYSTEM] My warning system grew monstrous in proportion and gained various death-dealing tools of destruction and mayhem. My sub-conscious gulped as my warning system towered, threatening its very existence. 

'Crap!' My sub-conscious threw away its sledgehammer. It then reached into its back pocket and pulled out a gigantic missile launcher. I think I've been hanging around Su for too long. 'Rest in pieces!' It then let out a barrage of jet-propelled bombs. An enormous explosion was all that was seen after that. 

Meanwhile, back in the real world I was totally spazzing out, trying to not only get out of Naru's embrace, but also trying to stem the flow of blood that was threatening to erupt from my nose. My arms were turning pinwheels as if the wind produced by their movements alone would move me out of her arms. This might not have been such a smart strategy because I might have hit Naru in my flailings, but at the moment, the self-preservation part of my brain just wanted to get out of that death trap. 

Luckily, Naru turned around in her sleep and released me from her grasp. I fell backwards onto my butt, gasping in large amounts of air which I had not taken because my breathing into one of Naru's most sensitive areas might have woken her up too. Oh ma, that was close. I looked at her sleeping form. My recent 'activity' had loosened her pajama top and had revealed part of her chest. I saw that she wore no bra when she went to bed. Oh man, to know that I could actually do that when she was awake and willing. To think that I could... 

My thoughts were cut short as my mind registered my possible lecherous acts and a nosebleed blew through my sinuses. I slipped my hand in front of my nose to try and stem the flow. Gah, what I wouldn't do for a tissue... I saw one floating in front of me. There was Tama-chan, once again. I thanked her, took the tissue and wiped my nose. 

Okay, it was time to get out of there before something _else_ happened. I fell back into my room silently and replaced the plywood. I grabbed my suitcase and made my way for my door. I went out into the hall quietly and... No, wait. I did this before and I almost got put into a coma because of it. Scratch that idea. I went back into my room and sat down. Let's see now, how to get out... Tama-chan flew up next to me. "Myuh?" 

"Huh?" My head turned to her. "Oh, just thinking about how I could get out of here without raising alarm." An idea came to my mind. It was a long shot, but it might work... "Hey, Tama-chan, how much weight could you carry?" 

"Myuh?' 

"Could you carry something as heavy as me?" 

"Myuh..." 

"I thought as much," I sighed. Well, what else could I do? The only other thing left for me was to out my window, but that would be suicide. Wait... suicide? I'm immortal, so I couldn't die. But it was going to be so painful... Well, I didn't have much choice, now did I? I sighed and got to my feet. Turning to Tama-chan, I whispered, "Tama-chan, you can at least carry my suitcase, right?" 

"Myuh," she nodded in the affirmative. "Myuh?" I pointed to my window. She sweatdropped. "Myuh my myuh?" I shrugged. "Myuh..." I handed her my suitcase, which she took into her mouth, and moved to the window. Time to test my immortality... I'm so sorry, body. I ran off and leapt through the opening. I really hoped there was going to be a soft landing. I really didn't feel like peeling myself off of the concrete. Luckily for me, a tree was right in my flight's path and I grabbed onto its branches. I sighed with relief and climbed down it until I touched the ground. Tama-chan was waiting for me with my suitcase. I took it gratefully and walked to the front of Hinata House. 

I just stood there and stared at it. So many memories in such a short amount of time. I think more happened in one year of my time there then in my entire life. I was really going to miss the place. But I was especially going to miss the inhabitants of the dorm. Those girls meant everything to me. They were my whole world. Sure they punished me most of the time with no good explanation, but I loved them all regardless. This was going to be hard for me, and maybe for them too, but it was something I had to do. I began to walk away, then stopped and looked over my shoulder. "Good-bye, Hinata House," I said. "I'll see you again... someday." 

I walked down the stairs, Tama-chan following closely after. When I got to the teahouse, I was surprised to find its lights were on. I was even more surprised to see Haruka in the doorway, her shadow projected onto the stairway. She was of course smoking a cigarette and staring at me critically. "Eh heh," I chuckled nervously. "Hi, Aunt Haruka." 

She walked over to me and smacked me on the head. "Just call me, Haruka. Now..." She took a drag of her cigarette. "Now what do you think you're doing?" Carp, I wasn't expecting this. My aunt was the only person who could usually stop my stubborn ideas. If I talked to her for too long, she might make me change my mind. I had to do something quick. But... I couldn't lie to my aunt... because if I did and she found out, I would be dead. 

I sighed. "I'm going." 

"Going where?" 

I shrugged. "Away." Just because I wouldn't lie to her didn't mean I had to tell the whole truth. Just enough to show her that I meant it. 

"Away where?" 

"Just somewhere." 

"Why?" Ooooh, the moneyshot. Well, might as well tell her what I told the girls in the letter. 

"To forget about things." 

She nodded as if she knew what I was talking about (which she probably did.) "Will you come back?" 

"Yes." I held up a hand to stop her from asking what was next. "But I'm not sure when. I don't really know how long it's going to take." That much was the truth. I really didn't know how long I was going to be away. 

"The girls are going to miss you, you know." 

"I would hope so," I grinned. Haruka smiled softly and shook her head. I could hear her chuckle and I was glad. My aunt should really smile more. Keeping a stern look like that had to be a killer on your face. And the blank, emotionless one wasn't any better. I chuckled a little with her and then said, "I'm going to miss them a lot too. But you know I won't be able to stay away from them for long." 

Haruka smiled sadly. "Naru's really going to be the one to miss you." 

I put a hand behind my neck and looked at the starry sky. It was funny that such small dots of light could be giant, flaming balls of gas millions of light-years away. They just seemed so close, like I could reach up and grab them. Just like my dream of getting into Tokyo U. It seemed so close, but in reality, I would never reach it for as long as I lived. I sighed again, still looking at the sky. "Yeah, I guess. I do love her and all, but I still don't think she deserves a loser like me for a boyfriend." Oh, how true was that. The four-year ronin and the goddess Tokyo U student. That was the worst couple idea possible. "She deserves far more than me." 

"That's true," Haruka breathed through a puff of smoke. I stared at her and she smirked. "Well it is. Just think about it this way, Keitaro: You're never good enough. You aren't right now and you never will be." 

"Gee," I scoffed. "Thanks." Stupid... 

"It is true, you know," she continued. "No one is ever worthy enough of anyone. Everyone has their strengths, and everyone has their faults. The only thing you can hope to do id use your strengths to overcome your faults and try to be happy with the person you love." 

I was touched. That was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. "Wow, thanks, Haruka. That was the nicest thing anyone ever said to me." She looked at me strangely as I held a fist up, tears streaming down my face. "You said I had strengths to make up for my numerous faults." I was so happy. 

Haruka put a hand to her head and shook it. "I take it back," she muttered. "You're just an idiot." I was than devastated. That was just plain mean. She waved a hand while holding her head in the other. "You better get going before I tie you up and leave you to the girls' wrath." I gulped. It was true. Urashima women were crazy when it came to ropes. 

"Okay, then," I said. "Bye, Aunt Haruka." Tama-chan waved good-bye with me before I began walking again. I moved slowly down the silent, dark streets wondering what I was going to do. It was then I realized that the silence was overwhelming. There were no sounds at all, not a one. There were no crickets chirping, no cats yowling for their catty reasons, no low rumblings like the ones cars made. The wind was even blowing through the trees, rustling the leaves. It was as if time had frozen in one instant as Tama-chan and I traveled through the inky blackness. It was creepy, almost like an omen. I shivered as if to warm myself from some unknown chill and turned to Tama-chan. 

"So, Tama-chan, what should we do now?" 

"Myuh." 

"Well, I was thinking of taking a ship to places unknown." Yeah, that sounded good. Maybe I'd find peace if I could just go somewhere new. Maybe I could meet new people, do new things and come back a changed man. Maybe I could go on a worldwide trip like grandma did! That sounded both relaxing and exciting at the same time. 

"Myuh." 

"Thanks." 

"Myuh myu my myuh." 

"Problem? What problem?" 

"Myu myuh." 

"What do you mean the trolleys don't work after midnight?!" 

***** 

I woke up the next morning on a bench next to the canal. I was covered by a newspaper generously donated by Tama-chan once again. I really wonder where that turtle hides those things. Anyway, I sat up and yawned, the newspaper crinkling as it fell off of my body. I stretched and blinked blearily as I watched the sun rise over the horizon, its rays slowly creeping over the ground. I yawned again and brought my coast around me to cover myself from the chilly mountain air. 

I couldn't believe I had to sleep outside on a park-bench in 30° weather. I didn't have much choice though because I didn't consider the fact that no normal person would be working public transportation after midnight. And since it takes about an hour just to get to Tokyo on a trolley, I'd rather not walk all the way in total darkness or else I'd probably get lost. Now that I had a little light to go by, I could probably walk some of the distance before catching a trolley the rest of the way. 

I sighed and looked around for Tama-chan. She had been sleeping on my stomach, so when I sat up she fell upside-down onto my lap, still asleep. I poked her gently. "Hey, Tama-chan, wake up," I whispered. She responded by waving her flippers around but stayed asleep. I poked her again, harder this time. "Tama-chan, wake up." This time she flipped over. Ugh... stupid turtle. Oh well, time for drastic measures. "Hey, Su!" I called out. "That new cutlery you have?" 

Tama-chan's snapped open. "Myuh?!" She crouched, the zoomed straight up into my chin. My head snapped backwards while Tama-chan fell back into my lap, half-conscious. "Oww..." I rubbed my chin. It was raw and tender from Tama-chan's attempted escape. I expected something like Tama-chan's reaction, but I didn't expect for both of us to receive bodily harm from it. 

I poked Tama-chan yet again. "Hey, Tama-chan, you okay?" 

She raised her head and shook it dazedly. "Myuh?" 

"Are you okay?" 

"Myuh..." Her eyes then gained a frantic look and she spun around, looking for something. "Myu myuh!" Huh? Su? Why would she be looking for... Wait, don't answer that. I mentally, and physically, bashed myself over the head. Idiot! You did use Su as a threat to get Tama-chan up, didn't you? Stupid, idiotic, lamebrain... Meanwhile, Tama-chan was looking at me with a bemused smile on her while I repeatedly hit myself. "Myuh?" 

"Huh?" I stopped and looked down on her. She just looked back with that same smile plastered on her face. I wonder, could she be able to make any other expressions? Having a smile on all the time really freaked me out. It reminded me of a saying that I had heard from someone once, can't remember who. "Always watch out for the ones that smile too much. They're usually just trying to hide their pain and will be the scariest when they snapped." But somehow I thought that if Tama-chan ever freaked, it would be more funny than scary. Okay... back to something actually relevant. "Oh, sorry." I grinned nervously while scratching the back of my head. 

"Myuh?" 

"Nothing. Just... thinking." 

"My?" 

"Nothing... in particular. Oh, and about Su... She's not here, I just used her name to wake you up." 

"Myuh..." She tensed up, staring up at me and growling. 

"Sorry." I tentatively patted her on the head. Please don't let her bite me, I was sorry. Tama-chan settled back down and then flew up to float by my head. I sighed and stood up. I grabbed my suitcase off of the ground and turned to face Tama-chan. "So, are you ready to go?" I asked. She nodded and we both went on our way again. Tama-chan just floated around as I walked down the street near the canal. I looked up at the sky at the clouds. I remembered how I used to, and still do, love the different shapes they took. 

Let's see... that one looked like a bird, its wings outstretched in victory over something. That one looked like a snake entwined all over itself. That one... that one looked like a cat, its paw over its head. And that one... that one looked just like Tama-chan! It even had the same goofy grin! 

"Hey, Tama-chan!" I called. "Tama-chan! Huh, where'd she go?" I saw that she had flown up ahead of me and around the corner. "Stupid corner," I muttered as I ran after her. Before I turned the corner too, however, I heard someone calling after Tama-chan. 

"Tama-chan!" Oh crap, that was Mutsumi's voice! Got to find a place to hide! I looked around frantically and spotted a trashcan. Oh well, better than nothing. I dove into it and slammed shut the lid on top of me. Mutsumi's voice got louder as she turned the corner. "Where have you been, you naughty turtle?" 

"Myuh." 

"Maybe she was looking for Keitaro." Ahhhhhh, noooo! And that voice was Naru's! I was dead! I silently shed tears as I awaited my imminent doom. "I wonder where my idiotic boyfriend could have gone to. He's such a jerk sometimes, leaving us like that. If I get my hands on him, oooooh..." Even in my terrorized state, I managed to sweatdrop at her statement. 

"Now, now, Na-chan," Mutsumi said. "Calm down. I know the only reason you're acting like this is because you love Kei-kun and miss him." 

"I do not love that dork! He's nothing but a heartless jackass! I... I..." I heard Naru's voice crack and the small sobs. I was shocked. Had my leaving really hurt her that much? I suddenly felt depressed. I didn't want to, never wanted to hurt Naru. And here I was... 

"Shh, it's okay, Na-chan," Mutsumi murmured. "It's okay." 

"M-Mutsumi..." Naru sobbed. "I-I miss h-him. H-he's been gone for l-less than a day, a-and I already m-miss him. I l-love him so m-much... I... I..." Her sentence dissolved into a series of heart-wracking sobs. I was horrified. Had I really done this? Did Naru really miss me _that_ much? I risked a peek and lifted the trashcan lid slightly. I saw Naru crying onto Mutsumi's shoulder while Mutsumi held her, stroking her hair. What had I done? But... but I needed to do this. I needed to. If I didn't, I would never be at peace. I saw Tama-chan sitting on Mutsumi's other shoulder. She was staring at me critically. 

My face cracked. Damn it, even Tama-chan was angry at me. I had to get out of there. Hoping against all hopes, I pointed my finger at Tama-chan, and then jabbed it in the opposite direction of the canal. Tama-chan stared at me, I began to sweat and then she nodded her head slowly. I sighed in relief and readied my self to make a run for it. Tama-chan pointed in the direction that I had and shouted, "Myuh!" 

I nearly face-faulted inside of the trashcan. Look, it's a UFO?! That was the best she could come up with?! The girls would never fall for that! Never in a million years- "Really? Where?" This time I really did face-fault inside of the trashcan. A loud clanging sound was heard through the air as I slammed the can into the ground. "Huh? What was that?" The two turned to my direction. Argh! I gave up my chance! 

Luckily, Tama-chan gave me another one. "Myuh!" She jabbed in the opposite direction of me once again. Okay, I don't even know what she said just then. What the hell is an "Inuyasha?" Okay, screw that, got to get out of here. I tried to leap out of the trashcan, but it hit the curb, so instead of getting out of trashcan and away, the trashcan came with me and I fell over the barrier to the canal and rolled down the side of it. 

"WAAAAHHHH!!!" 

WHAM! BASH! CLANG! SMASH! SPLASH! 

The last noise was me falling into the water-filled canal. Argh! I was going to drown in a fucking trashcan! This was totally humiliating! More humiliating than when I first came to Hinata House. No, wait... _Nothing_ could be more humiliating than when I first arrived. I saw naked, _pissed off_ girls, was dressed in underwear and flashed a seventh-grader. Yep, nothing was more humiliating than that. Meanwhile, I was slowly suffocating in a water-filled can. "Blub!" A water bubble erupted from my lips. I pushed off from the can's bottom and blasted through the water's surface. "Huahhh!" I gasped as I gulped in fresh air. Well, that was... quite normal luck for me. 

"What the hell was that?!" Damn it! I dove back under the surface and swam over to one of the overhangs overlooking the canal. Climbing onto the slanted wall, I pressed myself as hard as I could to it to try and hide myself. But since the overhang blocked me from sight, it also blocked the girls from my sight too so that I could only hear their voices. 

"What was that?" I heard Naru's voice say again. 

"Oh my, I believe it was a trashcan." 

"A yelling trashcan?" Silence was her only answer. "Well, we better get going. We still have to find Keitaro." 

"Sure, Na0chan. Oh my, Tama-chan, where are you going?" 

"Myuh my." 

"Oh, okay. See you, Tama-chan." 

I heard their footsteps become fainter as they walked away. I sighed. That was a close call. They almost caught me, and I was only gone for less than twenty-four hours. I wasn't even out of the city yet. In fact, I think I was only about a quarter of a mile away from Hinata House. It'd be funny and yet sad if they found me so early after I had run away. in any case, I saw Tama-chan fly down into the canal to look for me. I was really thankful for having that little turtle with me. She was extremely helpful. I stood up and whistled to her. "Hey, Tama-chan! Over here!" 

"Myuh?" I waved and she saw me. She flew over to me until she floated right in front of my face. "Myuh." 

"Thanks, Tama-chan. I really appreciate what you did for me." 

"Myuh." 

I smiled. "Well, are you ready you get going?" 

"Myuh? Myu myuh?" 

"What? Yeah... I've got to, Tama-chan, even after what I heard. It's just something I have to do." She stared at me and I sighed. What did I expect? For her to understand? Hell, I barely understood it myself, but something deep inside of me knew that it was the right thing to do. 

I sighed again and began to shiver. Falling into the canal probably wasn't one of the smartest things to do, but it wasn't like I did it on purpose. It was too late now however. I was soaking wet in freezing weather and I wouldn't be able to change until I got on the ship that would take me to places I did not know of. Speaking of changing, where was my suitcase? I looked around and saw it pushed up on the side of the canal that I was on a few meters away. good, at least I wouldn't get any more wet than I already was. I walked over to it, picked it up and flicked the locks. Luckily, the inside of it was dry. I guess it was a good idea to get a waterproof suitcase. 

In any case, I closed the suitcase back up and began to walk again. I decided to walk along the canal so that I would be harder to be found by the girls. Besides, it was more peaceful down there, listening to the water flowing gently while Tama-chan lazily floated around my head. I actually dried off pretty quickly, although I was still damp around the edges and was shaking like a dog left out in the rain. But hey, I had just taken a dunk in the canal, so you couldn't expect much else. 

After a while, I climbed out of the canal and made my way to a trolley stop. There I waited until one came by in which I got onto. The people around me gave a little distance to the person dripping water from his coat with a turtle perched on his shoulder. I flushed slightly as they gave me secret glances and whispered to each other. All in all, it was pretty embarrassing. 

The trolley eventually did make its way to Tokyo where I got off and went off in the direction of the docks. I was hoping to be able to get on the cruise ship I had seen the day before. Maybe that would be a good place to start. Tama-chan tired of flying, so she opted to rest on my head where she quickly fell asleep. I felt her soft breathing and smiled at the innocence she held. Turtle, in my opinion, could d no wrong, especially a turtle like Tama-chan. 

To my surprise, I had found that the ship had not left dock yet. I might have been able to catch it after all. Making my way to the ticket booth, I found a young woman reading a magazine on the other side of the Plexiglas window. I rapped gently on the window with my knuckles and she turned to face me. "Yeah, hon," she said, speaking through the intercom. "What can I do for you?" 

"Um, yeah." I put my hand behind my neck and looked at her nervously. "Could you tell me when the ship leaves?" 

"Which ship, hon?" 

"Umm..." I looked over to see what the name of the ship I wanted was. "The 'Poulet?'" 

She picked up her arm to look at her watch. "In about two hours. Would you like a ticket?" 

"Do you know where it's headed to?" 

She sighed and turned around to the computer console to look it up. It must exasperating to have people always asking dumb questions like I was. Especially people as nervous and pitiful looking as me at that moment. Typing in one last command, she turned in her chair back to me. "It goes to the Great Barrier Reef near Australia for about three weeks." Australia, huh? That sounded like a lot of fun. "You want a ticket?" 

I nodded. "Yeah, how much?" 

She leaned over and took a look at the screen. "120,000 yen." 

I reached into my pocket. "You take checks?" 

"Sure," she smiled. I wrote one out and handed it to her. She checked my identification, and then said, "Only one?" I nodded. I was about to ak why when she answered it before I could ask. "This cruise is usually meant for couples, families or old, retired people. And since you don't seem like any of the three, I was just wondering why you wanted to get on it." 

I looked at her with a surprised look on my face. "I... I just need to take a vacation." 

"Don't you have a special someone to go with you?" 

I was even more surprised by this inquiry. "Why do you ask?" 

She shrugged. "Just that you have the look of someone that loves another person that loves them back. Call it an aura they give off, a feeling. So do you?" 

I smiled sadly. "I used to, but I let her down, so I'm not really sure anymore." 

She nodded empathetically. "Well..." She took the ticket out of the machine and slid it to me. "Hope you have a good cruise, and I hope you work out your problems. Good luck, hon." I nodded and waved good-bye to her, and then walked over to where the ship was docked. Heading up the gangway, I gave in my ticket and was given the key to where my room was. I went to my room, opened up the door and threw myself onto the bed. Tama-chan toppled off of my head and landed next to me. 

Flipping over, I stared at the ceiling while pillowing my head on my hands. So this was the beginning of my vacation. My chance to start anew before heading back to Hinata House had started. I sighed, rolled over onto my side and curled up. Somehow I wasn't excited as I thought I would be. My last thoughts before I fell asleep were images of an auburn beauty and a giant building towering over me. 

***** 

A week had gone by on the ship and I was standing by the railings overlooking the ocean. Tama-chan was perched on the railing next to me. I sighed. Already a week and nothing had really happened. I was kind of expecting more, you know? 

"Myuh," Tama-chan said, finally breaking the silence. 

"Yeah, I know it's boring, but what are you going to do, huh?" During the week, I gave up the notion of caring if people thought I was crazy or not by talking to a turtle. Frankly Tama-chan was actually the only being keeping me from losing my sanity on this mind-numbing, lonely journey. Plus she was an interesting person to talk with. It's amazing what turtles think about in their spare time. "So what do you feel like doing today? Shuffleboard?" 

"Myuh." 

"I thought as much," I sighed. Ironically enough Tama had actually beaten me five out of eight times of the times we had played. It's sad losing to a flying turtle, isn't it? "Oh well..." I reached into my pocket and pulled out two things. "My exam ticket and print club book." I fingered the two shots of me and Naru. I missed her so much. I couldn't wait for this to be over so I could be with her again. I sighed again and moved to put them back in my pocket. 

Unfortunately, one of the other passengers bumped into me and nudged the two objects out of hand. They both got caught in an updraft and began to fly away. My mind froze. "Nooo!" I shouted. "Don't go! You can't go, damn it!" Without thinking, I planted a foot on the railing and launched myself off of it. I grabbed them and was triumphant until I realized I was in mid-air, off of the side of the ship. "Oh, crap... WAAHHH!" 

I fell into the ocean with a giant splash. "Great... just great," I hacked. "I fell into the fucking ocean!" I looked at the ship speedily sailing away from me and futilely tried to hail them. "Help! Someone! Hey, wait for me!" The only response I got was a "myuh!", and a frantic Tama-chan flying to land on my shoulder. I looked at her grimly. "Nobody could understand what you said, huh?" 

"Myuh..." She said dejectedly. 

"Yeah, well, what are-Blargh!" A wave knocked me over and depleted me of any stamina I had left for treading water. My mouth opened up, letting a giant air bubble out. My eyes close and I slowly drifted into the waiting arms of the ocean, losing consciousness as I fell deeper and deeper. 

***** 

I woke up on some beach, the gentle lapping of the waves splashing upon my face reviving me from my unconscious state. That and the fact that Tama-chan was repeatedly slapping me with her flippers and yelling, "Myuh!" as loud as she could. "Myuh!" SLAP! "Myuh!" WHACK! "Myu myu myuh!" WHAM! 

The last one was her pulling a hammer out of nowhere and hitting me on the head with it. "Gahhh! God damn it!" I bolted up and looked at Tama-chan fiercely while rubbing my head. "Damn it, Tama-chan. Where the fuck do you keep those things?" 

She shrugged in response. "Myuh." 

"Fine," I sighed. If she didn't want to tell, I wasn't going to push it. But it did freak me out how she kept multiple items in that tiny shell of hers though. Then I noticed I was some unknown beach. "Wait, where... where are we? What is this place? Did we survive?" 

"Myuh." 

"Crap." I got to my feet and started walking down the edge of the beach. Tama-chan decided to ride on my head rather than fly. I sighed as she settled down on my head. "You know, Tama-chan," I sighed. "Either I've got bad karma or someone up there doesn't like me." She perked up and moved her head to be up against my forehead. I looked up at her and smiled. "Year after year, it's the same thing. Fail my exams, almost drown, find some deserted beach. What a life..." I sighed again and tilted my head to look at the sky. Tama-chan scrambled to keep on top of my head from my sudden movement. "Does anyone even care about me?" 

"Myu myu." 

"Yeah," I laughed. "I guess you're right. Immortality does come in handy for these situations." I wondered if I'd find any signs of civilizations. There had to be someone here, right? I really didn't feel like living out a Robison Crusoe adventure. Cupping my hands to my mouth to form a funnel, I shouted, "Hello! Can anyone hear me?! Anyone at all?" 

"Kahhh!" 

I looked up to see I had disturbed some tropical birds. They took off from the top of the trees, looking disgruntled down on me. I bet they didn't have such noisy animals on their territory usually. "Uh, sorry," I said quietly to myself. I felt Tama-chan poking me in the head, so I took her off and looked at her. "What is it, Tama-chan?" I said tiredly. I really wasn't in the mood to play games. 

"Myuh!" She pointed off is some direction and I followed where her flipper was pointing to. There, in front of me, was a gigantic turtle. 

"Jesus Christ, that turtle must be as big as a Volkswagen. Are we in a place like 'Jurassic Park?'" 

"Myuh," Tama-chan murmured dreamily. 

"He's cute? Well..." I craned my neck to look at it at a different angle. Yeah, I guess 'he' could be cute... Wait, what was I saying?! I shouldn't be comparing turtles! I had to find help! I didn't want to be alone! I took off and just began to randomly call out for somebody, anybody. "Is there anyone on this island?! Someone answer me! HELLLLOOOOOO?!" But no one answered. I sighed. Look likes I was stranded. 

I walked back to where I left Tama-chan. She was getting on quite amiably with the larger turtle. They were myuhing and myuhing with each other like crazy. I understood a little of what they were saying, but I'd rather not go into detail of turtle flirting. Trust me, it makes no sense to a human. I sighed and sat down on the moist sand, I did say I wanted an adventure, didn't I? 

***** 

Four days later I was sitting on a boulder cross-legged, trying to fish for some food. What was left of my jacket was covering my head, protecting me from the sun's harmful rays. I sighed. Four days had gone by and I hadn't seen one sign of human life. But I did make friends with most of the wildlife that came by the ocean every once in a while. I especially made friends with the giant turtle Tama-chan and I had met on our first day there. I named him Gidget and we all got along quite well. Tama-chan and him got along the best, and I think there might have been something going on between them. 

My stomach groaned loudly and I held it in discomfort. God, I was so hungry... I hadn't eaten anything in the past few days. I almost though of eating Tama-chan, but one look from Gidget told me _I_ would be the one eaten if I even tried. I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out some lint. Oh well... it looked edible. Sticking a few pieces into my mouth, I turned my head to Tama-chan. "You know, Tama-chan," I muttered. "It's strange to think I was once a normal kid living in a girls' dorm, studying for an exam and now I'm marooned on a desert island with a bad case of body order. It's time like this I wished I didn't have a baby face." 

Suddenly, my line was tugged into the water. "What the... ?" It got tugged again, harder this time. "Ahhh! I got a bite!" My pole almost got pulled out of my hands. "Crap! And it's big too!" I began to pull back as hard as I could, but it still wasn't strong enough. After a few seconds of heavy fighting with whatever was on the other end of my line, I gave a terrific yank, and the creature burst out of the water. 

"Myaaah!" Gidget came flying out of the water, my line stuck in his mouth. He almost landed on top of me, but I scuttled backwards like a crab and fell off of the edge with a scream. 

"Damn it, Gidget!" I panted. "Don't... do that!" He responded by myuhing, and then began to hack. "Well no one told you to eat my zipper!" He kept continuing to hack. Crap, I didn't want him to choke. I walked over and took him by the throat. "Open your mouth." He did so and I took hold of the string traveling down his esophagus. "Just relax," I murmured. "This might hurt though." Stroking him along the length of his throat to relax him, I firmly grasped the line and, with a quick, strong yank, pulled it and the zipper I had used as bait of his throat. 

"Myah..." Gidget sighed. 

"You're welcome, Gidget," I smiled. "Listen, I'm going to go look for some kind of food so stay her with Tama-chan and try not to eat any more foreign objects." Gidget nodded and lumbered over to Tama-chan where they began to chat. I sighed and walked off to go find something. I was glad Gidget was okay, but still, he ate the bait I was trying to catch some fish with. Not like I'd catch any anyway. I sighed again. 

Then I saw a glitter up the beach a few meters away from me. I took off. Was it food, or maybe a Coke?! Yeah, I know, why would a Coke be on a deserted island? But my hunger-driven mind was thinking coherently at the time, it just wanted to be fed. When I got to the sparkle, I stopped in shock. There, lying in a pile of seaweed, was my exam ticket and print club book. I began to giggle. "Ha ha... the seaweed must've pulled it all the way here. Well..." I put them both into my pocket. "It might not be food, but at least it's something." After that, I walked back to find Tama-chan and Gidget fast asleep. I smiled at the touching scene before building a fire to dry out the treasures I had found. 

Later that day, I sat back on the ledge, overlooking the ocean that stretched on forever. It was funny that even though I was in a pretty dire life-or-death situation, I still found the nature around me to be so beautiful. Turning around, I saw that Tama-chan and Gidget were still curled up, sleeping. I smiled again before getting up to go check on the things I was drying. "Let's see," I murmured, reaching up to release them from the vines they were strung along. "Are they dry yet?" Taking them off, I felt a light weight land on my shoulder. 

"Myuh..." Tama-chan cooed. I smiled and rubbed her on the head. She arched her neck like a cat to rub back against my hand. It certainly was an affectionate gesture to try and lift my spirits. 

"Thanks, Tama-chan," I whispered. I lifted up my exam ticket and print club book to her view. "It would seem these are the only possessions I have now," I laughed. "It's funny. If I had know this would happen, I would have tried to get a few more photos with some of the other girls in them. But still..." I fingered the two photos again. "I'm glad they didn't get water damaged." I took a look at my exam ticket afterward and noticed writing on the back that I hadn't seen before. "Huh? What's this?" 

Written on the back were various encouragements made by the girls at Hinata House. 

_Keitaro, Tokyo U is so for you! – Su _

I hope you pass. – Haruka 

I accomplished my goal so I know that you can accomplish yours. Now go out there and get me some results. – Aoyama 

Sempai, it's because of you that I've learned to give everything my absolute best. I know that you can get into Tokyo U, so please do your best. – Shinobu 

If you get Tokyo U, I might respect ya. – Sarah 

Let's be Tokyo U students together! – Mutsumi 

Just do your best! By the way, I'm the one who thought of doing this. Aren't you touched? Did ya cry? Well, did ya? – Kitsune 

My breath caught in my throat. I was touched by their kind words. Yet, I felt a heavy weight fall onto my heart when I realized that all of their encouragements had gone to waste. I had still failed. I had let them all down. "Ahh..." I breathed heavily. "Everyone... Shinobu, Kitsune, Motoko, Haruka, Su and even Sarah. I'm sorry you guys, but I..." Then, I noticed on last piece of writing at the very bottom of the ticket. 

_Dear Kei, whether you pass or fail, everything will still be the same, so just take it easy, okay?_

"Oh, Naru..." I sank to my knees. I had done it. I had let down the one person in the world I never wanted to seem small in their eyes. I let down the woman I loved in more ways than one. "Naru..." The exam ticket crinkled in my hands as I gripped it firmly. "Naru..." I fell onto my hands, my glasses falling off of my face to the sand below. Tama-chan worriedly flew around my head, but I didn't notice. I was too caught up in my misery to care. "Naru... Why can't I do anything right?" I felt tears gathering in my eyes to trickle slowly down my cheeks. "I fail, I run away, I'm nothing but a coward." I felt so depressed, so lonely. I let them all down, all of them. I was worthless. "I can't do anything right, nothing at all..." 

That's when I heard a deep rumbling coming from the recesses of the jungle. "Huh? Gidget? That you?" But the creature that was approaching wasn't Gidget, or even a creature at all. A hulk of metal came crashing through the jungle towards me at an insane speed. Oh crap, I was going to be a bug on a windshield. The van (because that's what it was) hit a log and flipped through the air towards me. I was frozen in shock, stuck to the spot I was in as the van fell to crush me. Nothing could save me now. 

"Myaaahhh!" Suddenly, Gidget came trampling out of nowhere, a look of pure determination in his eyes. He headbutted the van on its side, knocking it off its course and missing me completely. It rolled off to the side, began to spew smoke and then abruptly exploded. Meanwhile, Gidget stood between Tama-chan and me, and the van, so he took most of the shockwaves from the blast. Right after, Tama-chan was flying around his head spouting "my hero" and other fairy tale stuff. I was slightly dazed until someone stepped out of the van. 

A man who seemed fairly familiar to me stepped out of the van with his head bleeding profusely. He was grinning and had an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. He smacked himself in the back of the head, causing more blood to squirt from his wound as he talked to himself out loud. "Ehh, looks like my insurance is going to go up again. I don't think the company will believe that a giant turtle attacked my van. Still, I didn't know they were that aggressive." He let out a laugh until he saw me rise to my feet and stare at him. "Huh? Part-time?" 

Tears gathered in my eyes again, but this time from happiness. "Seta..." I walked unsteadily a few feet, and then gained speed before tackling him in a fit of joy. "Seta, is it really you?!" I was so happy! I wasn't alone anymore! 

"Whoa! If it isn't Keitaro?! What are you doing out here?" He seemed surprised as I hugged his stomach. 

"I've been stranded here for four days!" I said as I let him go. I stared at him as I began to cry. "I haven't had any human contact since I came here! The only contact I've had was with Tama-chan and Gidget!" The tears were coming more freely now as I struggled to wipe them away with my already soaked and dirty hands. Not only was someone here to rescue me, but it was Seta, one of the people I knew extremely well! 

"Tama-chan and Gidget?" I pointed at them. Gidget growled loudly while still protectively standing behind me, Tama-chan lying on his back. Seta scratched the back of his head nervously. "Ah yes, Tama-chan... And I'm guessing Gidget's the one that rammed my van?" I nodded. Gidget looked at him threateningly and took a step forward. Seta sweatdropped while backing away a little. I waved my hand for Gidget to come closer. He did so, I patted his head fondly and he settled down, but not before giving Seta on last dirty look. Seta turned to me. "Thanks." 

"No problem," I said. My stomach rumbled painfully and I remembered how hungry I was. "Seta!" I said frantically. I grasped at his clothes again. He looked at the crazed look in my eyes nervously. "You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you? I was almost at the point of eating Tama-chan! I ate my own pocket lint, I was so hungry!" I shook him a little. "Well do you?" 

"S-sure..." He shook me off and went over to his still slightly smoldering vehicle. Reaching inside, he pulled out some containers of food. I drooled in anticipation. We all settled down around the fire I had made and Seta tossed me the food. I pounced on it and began to hastily devour it. Tama-chan and Gidget looked at me plaintively, so I tossed them some morsels. They myuhed in thanks. After I tore through each of the various food-stuffs, I wiped my mouth and looked at Seta with an ecstatic look on my face. "Man, that's what I call good grub!" I cried. 

"Eh, that's nice to know," Seta laughed nervously. "Now bring back Urashima. So anyway..." He put his hand behind his neck. "You say you've been stranded here for four days? That's a good story. Ever think about going on TV?" The both of us laughed as I continued to stuff my face. Tama-chan had landed and was resting on my head while Gidget sat next to me as if he was some sort of guardian for me. 

Seta took a drag of his cigarette. "Say, isn't it exam season right about now?" He fixed his eyes on me seriously. "What happened with Tokyo University?" His eyes seemed to be trying to pierce my very soul. It felt like he was trying to strip away all of my layers and find my inner being, vulnerable and naked. I couldn't help but feel anxious as he stared at me with those boring eyes. I didn't know what to say. 

"Urr... Well, I... You see, I... Well..." I tied to speak, but I simply couldn't, all I could do was look down and stare at the ground. The next thing I knew, I saw a shovel placed in front of my face. 

"Here you go, Urashima." 

I looked up to see Seta with his eyes closed and he was smiling. It looked like a genuine smile, like the one I saw on Haruka my first day of exams. He seemed like he was pleased about something. 

"A shovel?" I was perplexed. What would I do with a shovel? 

"You're not planning on heading back to Hinata house anytime soo, are you?" He smiled. "So how'd you like to be my assistant again? The pay is still lousy..." He shrugged his shoulders as if saying, 'what could you do?' "But I could use all the extra help I can get." 

"Your assistant?" I was still surprised by the job offer. Here I was stranded on what I thought was a deserted island, and now I was being offered an assistant job by Seta. Not that I was being picky or anything, but being with seta tended to make you wary. Trouble usually revolved him in an Indiana Jones type of danger: scary, but fun. Not to mention his driving skills left something to be desired. I think that Seta might be immortal like me because of all the accidents he's been in. most other people would be a broken mess of bones in a hospital bed if they were in his position. Of course, Seta always did seem to have dumb luck. 

"Yeah, I just can't seem to find any good help around here." He took a drag of his cigarette. "Plus, the whole mystery and adventure really gets my blood pumping. C'mon..." He waved the shovel in front of me. "I can be Indy and you can be Lara, okay?" 

"Nah." I waved my hand. "Sarah was Lara..." 

"You can pick who you want to be. So..." He took his cigarette out of his mouth and looked at me. "What do you say?" 

"I..." Eh, what did I have to lose? I did say I wanted adventure, and excavating with Seta seemed a little tamer than being stranded on a beach. Besides, it could be a lot of fun. Doing some archaeology might just be the medicine I need to lift my spirits. Okay! I've decided! "I'll do it!" 

"Splendid!" Seta grinned. "Now that that's out of the way, how about we drop the dorm a line?" 

"Drop them a line?" I asked, taking the shovel off of Seta's hands. "Do we have to? I said I'd be back and besides, they might drag me back to fix a toilet or something." I wasn't kidding. The girls actually did really need me to try and keep Hinata House together. When I first came, it was near the point of collapsing. Knocking me through the structure's supports didn't exactly help either. "By the way, where exactly are we? Ogasawara? Okinawa?" 

"What, don't you know?" Seta laughed. "The name of this place is... Pararakelse Island." 

A/N: Oh thank God! I finally got this chapter done! Ugh... too lazy... can't find urge to write more of story... losing interest... Gaaahhh... _(stops and falls to the floor)_ I don't feel so good... Please end this unholy torture now... I'm really sorry about the update time people. But don't worry, I will never discontinue this fic, even if it takes me my entire life... I hold that to you, my faithful readers... Ugh, I'll talk to you after the interview. 

_I'm hiding under an invisible barrier in a corner of the room with the rest of the Hinata Crew... minus Naru. Screams of fury and anguish are heard throughout the air as explosions accompany them. Meanwhile, I crouch in fear as I talk to myself, making a record of my possible last days on Earth._

Me: _(whispering)_ Author's Log... Date... I don't know... anyone? 

Taro: It's the day before Christmas Eve. 

Me: _(nods)_ Thank you. Date... 12/23/03. It's been a couple a couple of weeks since Keitaro left and I'm beginning to think that following the manga storyline was not such a good idea. 

Sarah: _(sarcastically)_ Oh really? What made you think that? 

Me: Shut up! How was I supposed to know that she would react like this? 

Kitsune: Well you did say the chapter before that she was extremely possessive. 

Me: _(sweatdrops)_ Oh yeah... whoops? 

Motoko: _(sighs)_ I swear, Yamiga, if we survive this... remind me to kill you. 

Me: _(chuckles nervously)_ Eh heh, can't promise to do that. _(shakes head)_ In any case... Naru went ballistic after finding out that I had failed Keitaro and sent him far, far away. So now she's pretty much out for my blood. _(glances at the rest)_ Oh yeah, the others are scared shitless of her too. 

Su: Can't you just use your author powers on her like you did on us the first chapter? 

Me: Problem with that strategy. It would seem that somehow Naru has a bit of what you would call... demon blood. 

Mutsumi: Oh my, is that bad? 

Me: _(nods)_ Basically, it would atone for her abnormal strength and scary ass looks when she's pissed off. _(points)_ Motoko gets the same condition when she uses her ki attacks. 

Shinobu: Is that why her face seems to morph? 

Me: _(shrugs)_ Maybe... To tell the truth, I'm just guessing from what I see in yours and other mangas. For all I know, she could just be very, very angry. _(shudders)_ In any case, there's no way in Hell that I'm confronting her. 

Panic: THERE MAY BE NO NEED FOR THAT! 

Me: Huh? _(everyone points behind me; there is Naru, grinning evilly)_ Oh, shit... 

Naru: Yamiga... _(punches through the shield and lifts me up by my neck cuff)_

Me: Gack! 

Naru: _(pulls me closer to her face)_ What did you do with my Kei, Ya-mi-ga? 

Me: Umm... sent him... away? 

Naru: You know what's going to happen now, don't you? 

Me: _(sweatdrops)_ Let me go and not kill me? 

Naru: _(smirks)_ I don't think so. 

Me: Crap... _(crosses fingers, closes eyes; whispering)_ Please dear God, let this work. And don't let the girls slay me afterward. _(reaches forward and... gropes a breast)_

Naru: _(gasps)_ Pervert! _(drops me to the ground)_

Me: _(chuckles nervously)_ Eh heh... And that's my cue to leave. Bye-bye! (runs off) 

Naru: Get back here, you little creep! And give me back my Kei! _(runs off after me)_

Me: _(off in distance)_ Nooooo!!! Leave me alone! 

Su: Think he'll be alright? 

Motoko: _(crosses arms)_ Most likely case... not at all. 

Taro: Ehh, he'll be just fine. Though I think Naru's not going to like him for another couple of chapters. 

Shinobu: How come? 

Taro: Naru finds Keitaro. _(everyone shudders)_

Sarah: Ewww... gonna be a blood bath. 

Kitsune: Maybe not... _(everyone stares at her)_ What? 

Motoko: Kitsune, you might be even more perverted than Urashima is... if that's even possible. 

Panic: MORE THAN LIKELY IT IS! BUT WE HAVE TO FINISH THIS, RIGHT?! 

Everyone: _(sighs)_ Right... _(takes a deep breath)_ Please Review! 

A/N: Gaahhhh... Naru didn't catch me, thank God! That would have been fairly painful. Anyway... Keitaro arrives in Pararakelse, and you know what that means, right? Nyamo appears! I love Nyamo! She's just so damn cute! Oh, and another surprise! She speaks! No more "..." bubbles! Yay! _(sighs)_ Well, thank you for staying with me. I really, really appreciate it. Please review and remember, no flames! Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS! _(sing-song voice)_ And a Happy New Year! 

_Preview! _

Next Chapter: Hello, Nyamo! 

"Oh, Keitaro," she sighed. "Don't you remember? It's me..." A breeze flitted through the air and finally revealed the rest of the woman's face to me. My breath caught in my throat. Not, it couldn't be... How could she be here? I raised my other hand to capture her face, but she lost her essence, and I just went through her. My hand went straight through her as I tried to grab some part of her to hold on to. I didn't want her to go away, I wanted to be able to touch her, to know she was with me. But she just wasn't there anymore, she just wasn't there. And I finally knew who she was, I knew where I was and I knew what had happened. 


	7. Hello, Nyamo!

AN: Hey, people! I'm baaacckk!!! How have all of ya been? Good? I hope so! Anyway, the seventh chapter is finally up! Yay! All right! Ahem, sorry. I know I've been kind of lazy and I'm truly sorry about that. My mind has just been on the fritz lately, what with school and all. It's been really stressful lately, ya know? Also, I've been writing other stories too, so that's also been putting a cramp in my writing for this story. Sorry! In any case, a thanks to my reviewers and then I'll talk to you at the end of my fic. See ya! 

**Filipino_Sniper:** please! Feel grief for me! Naru is scary when she's pissed! Ahhhhh! Don't hurt me! Anyway, I hope you enjoy my rendition of this volume and I will do my best to please you. Thank you very much for the review 

**Anubuss:** thanks for the great review. I've never really been commented on my humor like that before, so thank you very much! I'm still sorry for the update time, but I am doing my best so please bear with me! Thank you 

**Boombubble:** thanks for the review. Yeah, writing when you don't really feel like is bad for the story. But I have been re-reading the entire Love Hina series, which has helped me get new ideas for the story. And also, it gave me an idea for a new Love Hina story! Woo-hoo! Thank you 

**you know who:** thank you for the review. Demons cutting up my soul? Ehhh, that happens to me all the time. Might account for my total lost in sanity _(sighs)_ Oh well, whatcha' gonna do? Heh, thanks for the part about Inuyasha. I just had to put a joke like that in the story. And there'll be a lot more of that kind of humor in the sequel to this story! But that won't be for a while... heh 

**Lamikhara:** thank you for the review. I know I looked like I fooled around with Keitaro too much, but I needed to add a little more humor to the story and take a break from the romance. You understand, right? I hope so... 

**Vivi239:** heh, thank you for the heartfelt review. It made me feel all warm and nice inside. I took a look at my stats. 13 people put me on their favorite author's list. That's not too shabby if I say so myself. Anyway, thank you very much 

**Android K:** hello, pre-reader. How are you? Now that the formalities are done with... hank for still helping me out with my fic. I appreciate it so much! Thanks for the review, and you better get your next chapter out quick or else... in most cases I'll just keep bugging ya till ya do 

**Shadowed-Moon2525:** dude, I'm not half-assing it! My grammar and spelling just has a lot to be desired, that's all! I depend mostly on my pre-readers, and my best one, the one who goes into great detail I might add, thank you for that by the way, hasn't been able to send me his copy. Oh well... Anyway, I'm not losing interest... just having trouble focusing on this because of school and other projects, that's all. I'm back! I'm back and I'm bad, baby! _(laughs manically)_

**Sexybish666:** heh, cool name. Anyway, thank you so much for the review. I really appreciate it. And don't worry, I like suck-ups! Never hurts to help boost my very small ego. I have a very bad self-esteem problem. Got whatcha' can call an inferiority complex. _(sighs)_ Oh well... 

**Sabrina Komodo Sakazuki:** thank you for the review. And what are friends for? Well, they don't kick each other's online digital booty, I can tell ya that much. Heh, just kidding. thanks, nice ta know people like my fic. Makes me feel good 

**Niak:** thank you for the review. And I read some of your fic. It's good. A little sad, but good nonetheless. And a Keitaro/Shinobu pairing, huh? Yeah, I have to admit, they do make a pretty cute couple. But the age difference is just too weird for my taste. But hey, it's your opinion, and I have no right to diss it. But you're right, Shinobu never really gets her chance, does she? Maybe... if you have volume 13, read chapter 113. It's a really sweet moment between Keitaro and Shinobu. I think you'll like it 

**lilbsbllstar10:** thank you so much for the review! It was my favorite one by far. It's nice to know that my citrus scenes aren't too risqué. And the end of your review...? I laughed for about five minutes straight, and then had the giggles for the rest of the day. It was just too great! Hahahahahahaha! Heeeeeehhhh... Okay, I'm done 

Thank you to all of my reviewers! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 7: Hello, Nyamo!**

"..." – talking   
"(...)"– English 

So here I was, helping Seta excavate the mysterious island of Pararakelse. The legend this place held was actually pretty cool. Oh, geographically it's located almost smack-dab in the middle of the three great islands: Japan, Hawaii and Australia. Anyway, the legend it holds is a supposed turtle civilization. Yeah, I know, a turtle civilization. But it's actually not all that unbelievable. You wouldn't believe how many ancient cultures worshipped various objects and/or creatures. I think I read in the paper about some cult that prophesized and worshipped the coming of the toaster oven. And that was way off track... 

In any case, Seta said that there once was a fanatical religious cult that worshipped a turtle god by the name of Namusan Sapou. Why did that name seem so familiar? Didn't I hear Tama-chan and Gidget saying that name during their conversations on the beach? Oh well... An interesting note was that the god used to feast on young virgins as snacks. Heh, if Motoko ever heard that, I think she'd faint. Speaking of Motoko, I think that if she even heard (or even worse, saw) how many turtles were on this island, she'd lose her sanity. 

Coincidently, Pararakelse Island is supposedly located in the middle of the turtle civilization. Seta thought that this island was the key to uncovering the truth of the enigmatic and ancient turtle culture. In his words, he said that if he could discover such a key, it would mark a poetic end to his life's work. But I know Seta. Even if this part of his work was finished, he would immediately jump into another mystery, one that was probably even more dangerous and mind-boggling than the first one. 

I stopped shoveling a second to wipe my brow. Looking up at the blazing sun, I was amazed at how hot it could be. After Seta had brought me to the town where the excavation was being held, he immediately gave me a job in menial work, digging for artifacts. Not that I was complaining, I could use the workout. Studying behind a desk for three years straight tended to have a negative impact on your health. I had almost no stamina for hard work and had nearly fainted three or four times if I didn't have Tama-chan or Gidget helping to keep me cool. 

Unfortunately for me, the two turtles were off having one of their "lover rendezvous," and had left me all alone. The sun beat down on me brutally as I went back to work. Sweat poured down my face as I dug the shovel into the earth, pulling out dirt and clay, and then digging in again. God, it was so fucking hot! It felt like I was in Hell! Another hole in the ground, another pile of minerals. I pushed the shovel into the ground again and felt my knees go weak. Oh crap, not this time... Not when there was no one here. But it did. My world darkened, spun around and then blacked out all together. I hit the ground... hard. 

***** 

"Keitaro... Keitaro..." 

I woke up to the sound of someone calling my name. Opening my eyes, all I saw was a foggy mist shrouding my entire surroundings in an opaque form. Huh? Where was I? "Keitaro..." And who was calling me? It sounded light in tone and slight high-pitched, like a woman's voice. But where it was coming from, I could not tell. It was eclectic, from all around me. 

"Hello?!" I called out. "Is anybody there?!" 

"Keitaro... Where are you, Keitaro?" 

"Hello?! Who are you?! Please, tell me how you know me!" 

"Oh, I know you very well, Keitaro..." The voice sighed. "I know you very well indeed." 

"Then who are you?!" I yelled. Suddenly, as if reacting to my question, the fog in front of me dispersed a little to uncover a tall, over-towering building. The place seemed so familiar to me, what was it? I took a step forward and the fog disappeared completely, only to be replaced by a flurry of cherry blossoms and snow. Wait, cherry blossoms and snow together? That didn't make any sense. But it was happening, and dear God, it was beautiful. 

Then I heard giggling from behind me. I turned around to see three small children playing together, two girls and a boy. As I tried to get closer, they stopped playing and looked at me curiously. I raised out a hand and reached out for them, but a strong gust forced me to cover my face. When I looked out from underneath my arm, the children were gone. I slowly walked to where they were and bent down. In their place was a stuffed toy. I picked it up and the found someone tugging at my shirt. Turning around, I saw the three children standing in front of me. 

"Hey, mister," the little boy said. "Do you think we could have our Liddo-kun back?" 

"Liddo-kun?" I looked down at the animal. "Oh, you mean this?" I gave the stuffed toy a small shake to illustrate. The boy nodded while his companions acted differently. The older of the two girls moved up to his side while the younger one moved behind, clutching at his arm and peeking at me around his side. I tilted my head at their odd behavior. The way the two acted made it obvious that they both liked the boy. I could see it in their eyes. But the smaller one seemed more timid in her affections while the older one was bolder. However, something was holding back the older girl, something that told me that she wasn't totally trying to obtain the boy's attention, but I did not know what it was. 

I squatted down and looked at them. They all seemed so familiar to me, like I had known all of them for a long, long time. They were like a distant part of my memories, a small area of my mind that could not be unlocked. Who were they? Shaking my head, I smiled and extended their "Liddo-kun" towards them. The small boy took it from my hands then handed it to the younger girl. She took, gratitude shining from her eyes, and clutched it to her body. The older girl giggled and gazed at me. 

"Thank you, oniichan." 

I smiled again. She was calling me big brother? All I did was give them their doll back. But I couldn't help but feel a little joy though at her words. "You're welcome, little-ahh!" Another gust of wind, and the snow and cherry blossoms were thrown between us. I fell backwards and looked in surprise as the children giggled and then swiftly melted into the flurry of colors, their outlines blurring before they disappeared all together. 

"Keitaro!" 

I twisted my neck to see the outline of a woman standing in the hurricane of shades of light. She began to walk forward and started to notice more and more things about her. She was wearing a pink dress over a short-sleeved shirt, the hem of her dress billowing in the wind. Her slim figure walked with a grace unlike nothing I had ever seen before, she almost seemed to glide along the ground on her feet. Her auburn hair swirled around her head, covering the top half of her face. Al I could see was the bottom half, her full, ruby lips, her delicate cheekbones, her cute (I didn't know how else to describe it) nose. I just wish I could have seen her eyes. 

She walked until she stood in front of me and bent over. Her petite hand reached out to touch my face and I felt her gently caress a side of it. She was being so soft, so tender. Who was she? I slowly, hesitantly put a hand on one of her cheeks. She took her hand off of my face to hold my hand to hers as she gently nuzzled it. A warmth spread throughout my body and I smiled. But... why did all seem so familiar to me. Everything here seemed so familiar to me. That building, those children and now... this woman. It was like I had done all of this before. I looked, confused, at her. "Who are you?" I asked. "I know you... don't I?" 

"Oh, Keitaro," she sighed. "Don't you remember? It's me..." A breeze flitted through the air and finally revealed the rest of the woman's face to me. My breath caught in my throat. Not, it couldn't be... How could she be here? I raised my other hand to capture her face, but she lost her essence, and I just went through her. My hand went straight through her as I tried to grab some part of her to hold on to. I didn't want her to go away, I wanted to be able to touch her, to know she was with me. But she just wasn't there anymore, she just wasn't there. And I finally knew who she was, I knew where I was and I knew what had happened. 

"Naru!" I cried out. "Come back! Naru!" 

I woke up with a start. "Huah!" my body was covered in sweat. I sat up quickly and put my hand to my head. It hurt so much and felt so hot. What had happened? Then I remembered. Oh yeah, I had fainted outside. Probably of heatstroke or something else. But... I looked at my surroundings. I was in a darkened tent, the flaps closed. I was last outside, wasn't I? So how'd I get here. I then felt something cold in my lap. Looking down, I saw that it was a cold compress. Oh, someone must have found me and brought me here. I took the compress and put it to my head. I sighed. It felt _so_ good. 

I heard a noise at the opening of the tent and turned my head in that direction. Standing there was... Shinobu? Wait, no, that couldn't be right. I found my glasses and put them on. I looked again. No, it wasn't Shinobu, but damn, it sure looked like her. This girl looked almost exactly like Shinobu except she had longer hair tied in a big ribbon and a tan. She looked at me nervously. I raised a hand in greeting, and the girl bowed quickly and bolted from the tent. Geez, even her personality was like Shinobu's. 

I sighed and lied back down. What a weird dream. I guess I missed Hinata house, and Naru, a lot more than I thought. Why else would I have such vivid dreams about them? I sighed again and put the compress back to my head. It felt so refreshing against my flaming forehead. Was it that girl that had gotten it for me? If it was, I would have to thank her. It really helped me relax and I was very thankful. 

"Hey, Keitaro!" I turned to see Seta standing at the opening of the tent. He was grinning like his normal self and had a hand raised with a cigarette clutched between his fingers. "Glad to see you're awake! How you doing? Feeling better now?" 

"Uh, yeah, sure, Seta," I responded, holding a hand behind my head. I then saw the same girl from before hiding behind Seta, peeking at me from around his side. Well, she certainly seemed interested in something in me. She was staring at me like a moth does to a flame, knowing full well it could be dangerous, but attracted to it nonetheless. "Umm, Seta, who's the girl?" 

"Oh, you mean Nyamo here? Come out, sweetheart." He motioned Nyamo to move and she did into full view. She held her hands together and looked sideways at me, fidgeting slightly. I was right. She did act a lot like Shinobu, quiet and shy. "She's one of the people working part-time for me here on the excavation. I know that she's a bit young, but she was very insistent on working for me." He paused and then added, "That, and I'm an acquaintance of her grandfather's. she's the one that took care of you when you fainted." 

"Oh," I smiled. "Well, thank you very much, Nyamo." 

She stayed silent. It was like she didn't even understood what I had said. Which of course was exactly the problem. "Sorry," Seta laughed. "She doesn't speak Japanese." 

I looked at her. She didn't speak Japanese? Maybe she spoke English? I sure was glad that English was my second language. I guess it really did come in handy. "(Thank you, Nyamo,)" I said in the best English as I could. "(I owe my life to your quick attention.)" 

Nyamo's response wasn't verbal, but physical. A blush rose against her lightly tanned cheeks as she stared at me. Then she bowed once again and abruptly ran out of the tent. Umm, okay. That was a little unexpected. Why was she acting so fidgety and nervous? Had I done something to offend her? Seta quickly broke apart my conclusion. 

"Way to go, Keitaro. Looks like she's taken a liking to you," he said, slapping me on the back, grinning widely. "Strange..." He stroked his chin reflectively. "I think that girl's been watching you a _lot_ lately." 

"What?! It's not... I was..." What? She had been watching me? Was that why I had been found so quickly? Wait... she had bee watching me, but this was the first time that I had seen her. Didn't that qualify her as a stalker? I had a stalker? I had a stalker?! Someone thought I was worthy to stalk! No, wait... why was I happy. Shouldn't I have been nervous? Wait... no... yes... what? Whilst in this battle of emotions, I only uttered one eligible word. 

"Really?!" "Yeah," he laughed. "Looks like you've got another girl gunning for you. Makes me sort of jealous." Jealous? How could he be jealous? He used to have Naru trying to be with him, not to mention Kitsune and Haruka are probably still trying. And since when did _I_ ever have girls vying for my affections... Well, except for Mutsumi that one time... 

"Yeah, well..." I laughed nervously. I was glad Naru wasn't here when he said that. I knew she would take his comment the wrong way and do something horrible to me. Well, I really didn't know actually. Naru was extremely possessive. She looked like she was going to beat Mutsumi off of me with a stick when she first came. But still, after the "Naked Mutsumi" incident, she had gotten a bit more trusting of me. But I think I'd rather get out of that subject. It wouldn't end well if I thought about it too much. Changing trains of thought, I asked Seta something I was wondering. "Seta, how do you know Nyamo's grandfather?" 

"How do I know Nyamo's grandfather?" Seta repeated. "He used to be my favorite professor when I went to Tokyo U." 

I noticed a key word in his statement. "Used to? Why used to? Did something happen to him?" 

Suddenly Seta's face lost its grin and pulled into a neutral look. He started to fidget and looked at the ground blankly. I was startled by his actions. Seta was never nervous. He was one of the most confident that I knew. He was as dumb and oblivious as a brick sometimes, but still, at least he was a confident brick. "Umm, that's a rather touchy subject right now. I don't really want to say why. If you really want to know, the only person who should be telling you is Nyamo." 

"Oh, okay." Geez, that wasn't good. The atmosphere dove from carefree to grim in a matter of seconds. Trying to shake the heaviness of the situation, I stood up and said, "Well! I guess I'd better get back to work, huh? If I don't, I won't ever get used to it." I laughed as hard as I could and sweatdropped at how idiotic I sounded. But at least it had the result I had hoped for. Seta let out a little smirk and stuck his cigarette back into his mouth 

"Yep, you're right there, part-timer." He took a long drag of his cigarette and grinned, winking one of his eyes. "Here's hoping you don't faint again." He then turned around and waved a hand over his shoulder. "See you later, Keitaro. I've got to go talk to some officials." 

"See ya, Seta." He walked out of the tent and I was left alone once again. I sighed and scratched the back of my head. This certainly was an interesting vacation for me. I wondered what I'd be like after it was all over. In fact, I wondered how long I was going to stay here. I had been gone for a week and a half already so the girls must have realized that I was serious about going away. well, I guess I'd stay here until the excavation was all over and send little reports to the girls every once in a while to say how I was doing. I probably should send them a fax within the next couple of days. 

In any case, it was time to get back to work. Walking out of the tent, I found Tama-chan and Gidget waiting for me. I guess they might of felt a little guilty for being off somewhere else when I fainted. Tama-chan eagerly jumped off of Gidget and flew towards me to land on my shoulder. "Myuh," she murmured as she nuzzled into my neck. 

"Hey, Tama-chan." I rubbed her on the head fondly. Gidget ambled over to me and looked down bashfully. 

"Myah..." 

"It's okay, Gidget," I said as I patted his head. "You guys don't have to apologize. You deserve to have some alone time after watching me for so long. Besides, fainting is good. It showed that I really have to get back into shape. When I was training with Grandma, the only time I ever fainted was when she knocked me unconscious." For some strange reason, I found this extremely funny and burst out laughing. Eh, I've always had a weird sense of humor. The two turtles sweatdropped at me and I calmed down until I was only giggling nervously as their bemused expressions. "Well, in any case, I've got to get back to work so you two can go back to whatever it was you were doing before." 

Walking only a few steps, I felt something bumping me in the back. I turned around to see Gidget head-butting me. Seeing that he had gotten my attention, he bent down on his front legs and went, "Myah." I smiled at his offer. It was nice of him to offer to carry me, but it really wasn't necessary. After all, I could walk on my own. 

I shook my head and waved a hand. "No, it's okay, Gidget. You don't need to do that. I'm just fine. But..." I put my hands behind my head and turned my back to the two turtles, smiling slightly. "I wouldn't mind you both walking with me the rest of the way." To tell the truth, I had become rather attached to the tiny and large reptile within the past couple of days. Their smiles and ways had really grown on me. I was going to miss Gidget when I left because I didn't think that customs would allow him to leave the country. 

Gidget beamed and, when I began walking again, he followed right beside me. We were quite the picture, the three of us making our way down the tropical avenue of the village of Pararakelse. Finally, we arrived back at the excavation site, and I climbed down back down to start working again. Instead of leaving like I told them to, Tama-chan and Gidget instead opted to watch me from the side of the passage. They chatted with each other, peeking at me every once in a while as I took a shovel back into my hands and began digging again. 

I wasn't sure whether the work was fun or mind numbing. Sure it felt great to dig in the dirt, get myself good and sweaty. You know, natural endorphins are released when you work out real hard. But still, doing the same thing over and over again got real boring after a while. But hey, I was enjoying this. Seta said that even though you might never find anything, it's just the feeling that you just might that makes it all worthwhile. I sighed and went back to shoveling. 

After a while, I felt Tama-chan land on my shoulder and whisper into my ear, "Myuh." 

"Huh?" I leaned my head towards her. "What is it, Tama-chan?" 

"Myuh." She jabbed her flipper behind me and I turned to see what she was pointing at. I was surprised when I saw none other then Nyamo walking towards me. When she saw that I had noticed her, she stopped and nervously wrung her hands in front of her. It looked like she was trying to say something, but every time she tried, she just stopped and blushed. It looked like I had to take the initiative. 

"(Hello, Nyamo.)" 

H-hello, Keitaro.)" Nyamo said back. She looked embarrassedly at me and put her hands behind her back. Looking down, she stuttered, "(I-I'm sorry for b-bothering you, b-but I wanted t-to see if you w-were alright.)" 

I smiled at her concern. "(Thank you, Nyamo. I'm just fine. You took very good care of me.)" I turned my back to her and to shovel again. I talked throughout my shoveling, grunting a little from the effort. "(Seta told me that you were watching me from before.)" I stopped and turned back to her, crossing my arms across the top of the shovel and leaning on it. Smiling slightly and raising an eyebrow, I asked, "(Well, were you? Watching me that is?)" 

Nyamo's head snapped up and she blushed furiously. Whoa, I was right, she was watching me. That was... unexpected. Meanwhile, Nyamo was trying to say something, but she wasn't doing a very good job at it. "(Uh... that is... well I... I... I'm sorry! Please forgive me!)" She then turned around to take off, my God, she was like a carbon copy of Shinobu! She even ran away when things embarrassed her in some way! 

"(Wait, Nyamo!)" I cried out. She stopped and nervously looked over her shoulder. "(It's okay, really!)" She turned around and blushed again. I smiled softly and put the shovel down. Sitting down, my back against the wall, I pillowed my head on my hands and looked up at the sky for a second before looking back at Nyamo. "(Really, Nyamo, it's okay. To tell the truth...)" At this I looked back at the sky. "(I'm actually kind of flattered and very grateful that you were. If you hadn't I probably would have still been here passed out with heatstroke. So thank you.)" 

"(Oh! Y-you're welcome.)" 

"(So, do you want to talk?)" 

"(What?! Talk?!)" 

"(Well, I'm guessing you didn't just come here to see if I was alright. If you're worried about bothering me, don't be. I could use the break and my English could do with some practice too.)" Nyamo looked surprised at my remark and I have to admit I was too. I didn't think I'd ever talk to some random person I'd just met, not to mention a girl, so easily. Usually, _I_ would be the one stuttering. I guess being around all the crazy characters of Hinata House had really helped me to interact with normal people better. Sigh... Hinata House... I really missed that place. But I would be back, after I finished here. 

"(Keitaro? Keitaro? Are you all right?)" I snapped out of daze to find Nyamo standing in front of me, slightly bent over, her hands on her knees and looking at me worriedly, her brows furrowed. 

"(Huh? Oh, sorry. Zoned out there for a second.)" I laughed nervously. She looked at me strangely until I waved a hand. "(Don't worry, just thinking about my home.)" I patted the ground beside me. "(Here, sit down.)" 

Nyamo did so, leaning her head back to rest on the wall. I was startled when I saw Gidget lumber over and settle down right in front of us. He folded his legs underneath him and rested his head on Nyamo's legs. She had a gentle look on her face as she reached out and rubbed his head. Gidget closed his eyes and sighed with a, "myah." Nyamo giggled a little as he yawned and then fell into a doze. I smiled. 

"(Hey look,)" I chuckled. "(You finally look happy. That's good. You should smile more, Nyamo. You're always looking either nervous or sad. Be happy, Nyamo!)" 

She blushed slightly and smiled a little more before looking down at Gidget. Meanwhile, Tama-chan had landed on my head and was darkly muttering. I tilted my head and looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Tama-chan jealous. That was a new one. I guess she really did like Gidget. I chuckled inwardly as I realized she was acting a bit like Naru. Well, at least _I_ thought she was acting like Naru. In any case, I scratched Tama-chan's throat and murmured, "Hey, Tama-chan, you jealous?" 

She glared at me and muttered back, "Myu." 

"Tama-chan, don't worry. Gidget's just trying to be friendly. Besides, I don't think they'd work out. They are of different species." I took her off my head and looked at her stern. "Now, go over there and be nice too." 

Tama-chan grumbled a bit, but listened to what I said and flew to land on Nyamo's shoulder. She settled down reluctantly and myuhed. Nyamo smiled and gently scratched her head. Tama-chan calmed down a little and seemed to get a little friendlier when she arched her neck into Nyamo's hand and let out a soft purr. Nyamo's smile turned into a happy grin and I looked contently at the scene. Finally, I spoke. 

"(So, Nyamo, tell me about yourself.)" 

Nyamo looked at me quizzically. "(Like what?)" She asked. 

"(Like...)" I looked up at the blue sky and scratched my head. I then snapped my fingers and said, "(Like your family, your hobbies, your friends. Things like that.)" 

"(Oh, well, ummm...)" Nyamo closed her eyes and tilted her head back in deep thought. "(Let's see... my mother was a native on this island and my father was an archaeologist visiting here from Japan to meet my grandfather. My grandfather introduced my father to my mother, they fell in love, got married and had me. I'm an only child so I get lonely sometimes, but there are a lot of nice people around here so I don't get too lonely. I'm kind of shy around new people so I don't make friends very easily.)" 

"(Except for me,)" I grinned. "(Oh, and Gidget and Tama-chan.)" 

Nyamo blushed. "(I guess,)" she murmured. "(But I really like animals so I get along with them really easily.)" 

"(That's nice," I smiled. "(I can tell they really like you.)" I wasn't about to say that I could understand what they said. I didn't want her to think I was a freak or something. I wanted to make friends with at least one other person on this island other than Seta. Nyamo smiled lightly and I smiled back. "But, Nyamo, I was wondering. Can you tell me why you're working for Seta on this dig?)" 

Nyamo's smile fell and she gained a melancholy look instead. Her hands went to a locket around her neck and removed it. She flicked the lock open and looked at it sadly. Hmm? What was in that locket that made her look so depressed? I scootched over to her and tried to take a peek. Nyamo noticed I was trying to see and moved it into my view. In it was a picture of an old, kind looking old man. Glasses and a white-haired mustache framed his tanned face. He was smiling jovially at the camera while a grinning Seta was seen behind him. Was this... Was this Nyamo's grandfather? 

"(Nyamo, is this...?)" 

"(My grandfather? Yes.)" Nyamo sighed sadly. "(I loved my grandfather very much. He was very kind to me, to everyone. He was also a very energetic soul, even for his age. He was always going on adventures. But now, he can't anymore...)" She trailed off and I heard her sniffling softly. 

My heart broke a little. She seemed so sad. Here I was trying to be friendly with her, and instead I had made her cry. Gahh! Everyone I came in contact with I made sad! What was wrong with me?! I couldn't do anything right... Placing a hand on her shoulder, I said gently, "(I'm sorry. Did he... pass away?)" 

She looked up at me and I saw tears gathering in her eyes. But the strange thing was, she was smiling... "(I really don't know,)" she laughed. 

"(Huh? What do you mean?)" I looked at her quizzically. 

"(I mean... I mean I really don't know if he's dead or not. He could be or he couldn't. he just disappeared on one of his excavations and never came back. There was really no record of his death, so he's just... missing.)" She looked down at her feet. 

"(Oh...)" 

"(So I guess I'm working with Mr. Seta because I want to continue my grandfather's legacy, but I just don't know...)" 

"(Nyamo...)" I gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. She looked up at me sadly and I smiled as warmly as I possibly could. She shouldn't have been sad, nobody should have to be sad. I didn't like anyone around me sad. Maybe I was just naïve, wishing there could be a lot more happiness in the world. Maybe that's just me. But... I like the way I am, and I like to help others, so maybe... just maybe... I could help Nyamo. "(I don't know much about archaeology yet... Actually, I don't know anything, but I know that I can definitely help you dig a nice hole. So if there's anything... anything at all I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask.)" 

Nyamo blushed slightly and looked down again, the corners of her mouth tugging into a small smile. "(Thank you, Keitaro,)" she murmured, 

"(You're welcome,)" I grinned. I was happy that she wasn't sad anymore. Nyamo seemed like a really sweet girl, so she didn't deserve to be sad. 

"(So, umm... could you... tell me about yourself?)" 

"(Myself?)" I closed my eyes and thought. Well, what could I say? I suppose I could talk about my family. But what would I say about Hinata House? I severely doubted that she'd believe me if I told her I was the landlord of a girl's dorm. But Nyamo seemed like the trusting type once she got to know you, so I decide to just tell her about myself and my life. 

"(Well, I'm from Japan, obviously.)" Nyamo giggled cheekily at my blatant comment. "(I was born and raised in Tokyo. My parents own a pretty good sweet shop and so I know how to make things like bean-jam pastries and stuff. I have a younger sister, Kanako. We're not actually siblings though because she was adopted.)" Kanako... such a somber girl. She was always so serious, so formal. She almost never smiled, only around me. I remembered how nervous she always used to get around me. I smiled inwardly at those memories. I guess you could say that she had a big-brother complex. But Grandma had taken her off on a training trip like she had with me and I hadn't seen her ever since. I missed Kanako. She was, and always would be, my little sister. 

"(But now, now...)" I stopped, wondering if I should admit my current lifestyle. Mentally sighing, I continued. "(Now I live in a town called Hinata Hot Springs working as the landlord and manager of a girl's dormitory.)" 

Nyamo's head snapped up and her eyes widened. A shocked look was plastered on her face as she gasped at me. "(A girl's dormitory?! But isn't that kind of... perverted?)" 

I sighed and dug my face into my hands. I knew it. "(I knew I shouldn't have told you.)" 

"(But why are you...?)" 

"(It's a long story,)" I said tiredly. "(One that has many things you could never possibly imagine beyond your wildest dreams. But basically my grandma, the previous owner, gave it to me for some reason on the sole condition of me becoming the landlord.)" 

Nyamo nodded. "(So are you friends with the tenants, or do they hate you for being... well, not a girl?)" 

"(Well...)" I laughed out loud. "(Funny story actually. Yes, at first they hated me for being male and... other things...)" I wasn't about to go into detail about how I met them all. Nyamo would probably call me a pervert if I did and I did _not_ feel like having another female calling me that blasted name. "(But now, we're all pretty friendly with each other.)" 

"(Umm...)" Nyamo fidgeted slightly. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? Had I done something? "(Is... is one of the girls' names Naru?)" 

I froze slightly. How... how did she...? "(H-how did you know that? I don't remember saying that name at all to you.)" 

She looked down embarrassedly and wringed her hands. "(You were... I heard you murmuring her name when I was taking care of you after you had passed out.)" She looked up apologetically as if she had done something wrong and then said, "(Is she your girlfriend or something?)" 

Scratching the back of my head, I looked up at the sky and smile lopsidedly. "(Yeah, guess you could say that. We do love each other and all, but I let her down. So now I'm not too sure anymore.)" 

"(Umm... unless you don't want to, could you tell me what happened?)" 

I looked at her. She genuinely wanted to know. I could see it in her eyes. I nodded my head. "(Okay.)" And so I told her everything. About my childhood, my time at Hinata House, my relationship with Naru, how I failed, everything. I don't know why I opened up like this to an almost complete stranger to me, but Nyamo... she seemed so innocent, so caring. Just like Shinobu, she really did want to try and cheer people up. During my story, she listened quite attentively, interrupting only a few times to ask for a little clarification on some things. When I finished, Nyamo was looking at me with awe. 

"(Wow,)" she said, her mouth a little agape. "(You went through a lot, Keitaro.)" 

"(Yeah,)" I grinned slightly, my eyes closed. "(I guess so.)" 

"(I'm sorry about your exam.)" 

"(Ehh, it's okay.)" I put my hands behind my head, pillowing it on the hard-packed earth behind me. "(Besides, if I hadn't failed, I wouldn't be here right now doing something I'm really enjoying. So I guess it all balances out maybe.)" 

Nyamo looked at me critically. "(You're lying,)" she simply stated. 

I sweatdropped. For someone who seemed so innocent, she was rather acute. "(Yeah, you're right. I much rather of passed and kept my promise, but anyway I'm here now and there's nothing I can do about it. But I'm still enjoying myself and I'm glad I made a friend like you, Nyamo.)" 

She smiled and blushed. "(You are a good friend too, Keitaro.)" 

I smiled again, and then picked myself up off of the ground. Brushing the dirt from the bottom of my pants, I took my shovel and put it over one of my shoulders. I hadn't realized it until now, but it was getting kind of dark out. I guess that Nyamo and I had talked longer than what I thought. Reaching a hand down, I silently offered to help Nyamo up. She took up on it and claimed a grasp on my hand. I was surprised. For one so small, she had a startling good grip on my hand. I guess excavating for most of her life had been really good for her. 

We started walking until I heard a yelp from behind me. I turned around to see Nyamo sitting dazedly on Gidget's back with Tama-chan sitting on her head. It looked like Gidget had forced his way under Nyamo to let her ride him and Tama-chan just wanted to be part of the action. I couldn't help but laugh at them. "(Wah ha ha! You guys look like a totem pole!)" 

Nyamo pouted. "(They really surprised me!)" I just grinned even more. It was good that she was reacting like that. It showed that she was getting more comfortable around me. I was glad. After all, I was probably going to be working with her for a while and it would have been bad if she was jittery every time she was near me. 

I jerked my head slightly. Gidget took my point and ambled on past me. Nyamo didn't keep pouting for long before she began giggling and enjoying the ride. I smiled and walked after them. All of us made our way out of the ditch I was working in and back to the village. The sun was totally over the horizon now, so it was nighttime, and the stars were over our heads twinkling. Everything was silent until Tama-chan spoke. "Myuh myu." 

"(Yes,)" Nyamo replied. "(The stars are pretty.)" 

I stared at her. Wait... did she...? "(Do you actually understand what they're saying?)" I asked hesitantly. 

Nyamo looked at me and laughed. "(Of course! It's kind of hard not to when you're surrounded by them.)" I guess she was right. I saw a lot of turtles just loafing around the village. Maybe they were pets of the people or were used to carry things. I know that I sometimes had Gidget carry surplus supplies for the excavation. Though I wondered how they got all those gigantic turtles. Did they capture them from the wild or breed them or something? Ehhh... 

Nyamo's face then drooped and she looked at me nervously. Oh crap, don't tell me she was getting embarrassed again! "(Why?)" She asked dejectedly. "(Do you find that weird? Me being able to talk to turtles?)" 

I shook my head. "(No! no, that's not it. It's just that, umm...)" I scratched the back of my head and looked embarrassedly at the night sky. "(I just thought that it was funny that I'm not the only one here who can.)" 

She blinked. "(You can speak to them too?)" 

"(Yeah,)" I grinned. "(Living around so long with a turtle like Tama-chan tends to have that effect on you.)" 

"(Really?)" 

"(Really.)" 

"(Oh.)" 

After that, we kept in comfortable silence until Nyamo got off of Gidget to go to her house. We waved goodbye and Gidget, Tama-chan and I moved off to where we were staying. Tama-chan and Gidget were chatting quietly as I thought to myself of the events of the day. Okay let's see... I had fainted off heatstroke, had a reminiscent dream of Naru and Hinata house and had made a new friend of Nyamo. Damn, my life wasn't very boring, was it? 

Chuckling softly, I climbed into my tent. Tama-chan followed after while Gidget settled down at the opening like a guard. I changed out of my dirty clothes and removed my glasses before lying down. I didn't get into my sleeping back because it was too hot out to try and sleep in it. Pillowing my head on my hands, I looked up, just watching the top of the tent swaying gently in the breeze. Tama-chan had fallen asleep on my stomach and was snoring softly. Listening to her gentle snoozing, I slowly fell into the waiting arms of sleep. 

***** 

The next few days went along the same way. I got up, worked on the excavations, talked with Seta, played with Nyamo, Gidget and Tama-chan on my free time, ate my meals and went back to sleep. I was having a whole lot of fun, and it was good for my body too. My muscles were getting slightly toned from all of the hard work, and the relentless beating down of the sun had toned my skin to about the intensity of Nyamo's. 

Speaking of Nyamo, the two of us had become really good friends. The quiet, shy girl had become more playful and extroverted. She talked a lot more animatedly now with hardly any stuttering like before. She helped me out with the excavations, making sure I didn't just blindly shovel so I didn't break any fragile artifacts we might find. She was actually very good when it came to archaeology. I suppose her grandfather had taught her a thing or two. 

Nyamo had also been helping me with my English. Even though I was apparently very good at it, I still slipped up on even the most basic of sentences. Like when I asked one of the locals where the bathroom was... eh, I'm not even going to venture into that. Let's just say I ended up very filthy and very unhappy. You must be fairly disturbed now. 

In any case, I had sent a fax to the girls the day before so they should have known that I was doing just fine. I even told them I was staying and doing. Now that I thought about it however, that might not have been such a good idea. They might try to hunt me down and bring me back... Nah, the girls didn't care about me that much. Still, there was an ominous feeling hanging in the air. 

"Myah." 

My thoughts were interrupted by Gidget's rumblings. Is topped shoveling and turned to him, leaning on my shovel. Raising an eyebrow, I stared at him critically. He responded by staring back and repeating what he had just said. 

"Myaahhh..." 

He was quickly followed by Tama-chan. "Myuh." 

I sighed. "Alright, guys, I know you're hungry. I'll stop and we'll get lunch." They looked at each other happily and then back at me plaintively. I put a hand to my face and chuckled into it. All these guys wanted to do lately was eat. It was getting annoying. But I couldn't complain, I was getting hungry too. I then heard Seta's voice off to my left. 

"Hey, part-timer, looks like you're getting pretty used to this work, huh?" 

I turned to face him. "Hey, Seta. I guess so." Wiping my forehead, I commented, "It's nice. Since all I've been doing these past few years is sitting behind a desk studying, being able to help out like this is really giving me a workout." I walked over to him and we made our way out of the ditch and into the village. Gidget and Tama-chan followed after us. 

"Yes, the physical activity has done you some good. And you got a tan, too!" 

"I could say the same for you!" 

The two of us laughed until we heard someone calling our names. I turned to see Nyamo running up and waving at us. She stopped right in front of us and bowed. "(Hello, Keitaro. Hello, Mr. Seta.)" 

"(Hey, Nyamo.)" 

"(Hello, Nyamo.)" 

She bent over and looked at us innocently. "(Are you two done working?)" 

Seta waved a hand. "(No, I still have to go to the embassy for a meeting. I'll see you two later.)" 

"(Ok, see you, Seta.)" 

"(Good-bye, Mr. Seta.)" He smiled, waved his hand at us again, and then ran off, his coat flapping out behind him. Seta always seemed to be nervous around authorities. I remembered when we first met how he freaked out when he found his box of artifacts totally smashed into tiny, little pieces. I could still see the look of shock and horror when he realized how badly the other professors were going to chew him out. Chuckling softly, I turned back to Nyamo. 

"(So, are you done working, Keitaro?)" 

"(Yeah, I was just about to take Gidget and Tama-chan to go eat lunch.)" Getting an idea, I said, "(Hey, why don't you join us?)" Nyamo positively beamed and nodded. I grinned and we made our way to the small restaurant. We gave our orders and then sat down to wait. Nyamo chatted with the two turtles as I looked out of the restaurant. Let's see now... The results back in Japan should have been in by now. Taking my glasses off, I made a silent prayer. _Mutsumi, Naru... I hoped you both passed._

My thoughts were interrupted when we received our food. I sighed and shook my head. I was really beginning to miss everyone back home. I had been gone for what... two weeks now? I wonder if any of them missed me either. I sighed again and began to eat my food. I silently ate, off in my own little world until I felt Nyamo tapping me on my shoulder. I turned to her and she looked at me nervously. "(Umm, Keitaro? What does your girlfriend look like?)" 

I looked at her strangely. Why would she be asking that? "(Well, let's see... auburn hair, very beautiful, except when she's mad, 'cause then she's just downright scary.)" I tilted my head to the side. "(Why do you ask?)" 

Nyamo pointed behind me. Before I turned, I heard Tama-chan myuhing happily. Wait... did she say...? The Nyamo's question came back to my mind. My mouth went dry, my heart fell into the pit of my stomach and I turned around shakily. 

[WARNING! WARNING! DESTRUCTION OF KEITARO SYSTEM IS IMMINENT!] 

'Oh dear, fucking God, we are going to die...' 

My panic system and sub-conscious just stood there, frozen in their battle within my mind as they awaited the oblivion that would occur after my death. I envied them, they couldn't feel pain as they were nothing but figments of my imagination. But me, I would feel pain _beyond_ imagination in about... ohhhh... five minutes. 

But back to the reason _why_ I was going to die. _She_ was there. The woman I loved and had left. The promise girl who I had failed. The woman who made me extremely ecstatic, yet horrifically sorrowful at the same time. The woman of both my dreams and my nightmares. She stood there like a vengeful angel, exceedingly beautiful, yet poised to strike down the infidel that had unpleased her. I gulped, and if I didn't have a tan, my skin would have been as pale as flour. 

"Ah, Naru... what a... pleasant surprise..." 

A/N: Eeeewwwww... that's a bit of a cliffhanger, ain't it? So Naru finally finds our hapless hero, it's not gonna be pretty folks. Well, maybe not... you just have to find out folks! Anyway, thank you for staying with me and I'm sorry for the update time. I really am! I'm writing a new story now, one that takes place at the beginning of the Love Hina saga! It's gonna be a doozy, but I'll tell you more about that after the interview. Oh, and one more thing. I have happy news! But I'll tell you that afterward too! And now, to the characters! 

_Keitaro and Naru are standing at opposite ends of the room, just staring at each other. Keitaro has a scared, anxious expression on his face while Naru has a furious, yet... depressed look on hers. Meanwhile, the rest of the Hinata Crew, me, and the turtles, (not to mention Nyamo!) are sitting off to the side as we watch the two._

Su: _(leans over to me; whispers)_ How long are they going to stare at each other like that? 

Me: _(shrugs)_ No idea. I just do the generals in this world, not the details. What they do is their own choice and theirs alone. _(reaches into pocket and pulls out a bag; lifts it into view)_ Popcorn? 

Sarah: _(sweatdrops)_ Where the hell do you keep that stuff? 

Me: _(munches on snacks)_ Don't know, ask Su. She'll tell you. 

Nyamo: _(taps me on the shoulder; I turn around)_ Is Keitaro going to be alright? 

Me: _(smiles)_ I pretty sure he will be. 

Kitsune: You didn't happen to put any unmentionables in the next chapter, did ya? 

Me: _(blushes)_ Why would I do that? 

Motoko: _(sighs; put head into palm of hand)_ I don't believe it. He's just as perverted as Urashima. Su, what do you see in him? 

Su: What? He's funny and cute. And he let's me strangle him whenever I want. _(I rub my neck for effect; Su giggles)_ Hehe. See? Yamiga's nice! 

Gidget: Myah. 

Tama-chan: Myuh myu. 

Motoko: _(face pales)_ T-t-t-turtles! Haaaaa... _(faints)_

Shinobu: Ooohhhhh... Motoko fainted again. Why is she so afraid of turtles? 

Taro: _(looks at her unconscious form)_ Don't tell me she didn't even notice when they were right beside her. 

Mutsumi: Oh my. For someone so acute as Motoko, she can be quite oblivious at times, can't she? _(we all turn to her and sweatdrop; she looks at us innocently)_ Oh, what are you looking at me for? 

Kitsune: _(shakes head)_ Never mind, turtle girl. 

Panic: SOMETIMES I WONDER WHY WE EVEN BOTHER! 

Me: You guys are just too entertaining sometimes. I'm the author, and yet you surprise even me. _(chuckles)_ And I'm the one who writes up this interview in the first place! Just way too weird for me. 

_Movement from the two lovers draw our attention. Naru raises a hand and moves it towards Keitaro. He moves back slightly, away from her reach. She opens her mouth to speak._

Naru: _(murmurs)_ Kei... Kei... Keitaro? 

Keitaro: _(scratches back of head)_ Umm, hi... Naru. 

Me: Well, sorry, that's all the time we have today, readers. Sorry to cut this short, but at least you'll see this next time in the next chapter! Anyway remember... Please Review! _(waves goodbye)_

A/N: Well, people, seventh chapter's done. Aren't you all happy that I finally updated? Heh... anyway, updates might be even longer because I'm typing other stories at the moment also. Sorry. Oh, speaking of other stories, I got to tell you about my new LH story, huh? Anyway, it spans from the first volume to the fourth. Also, Keitaro is totally OOC, a completely different character. I just had to do that, sorry. I'll tell you more about his personality when I post that story, so look out for it! Oh, and about the happy celebration? Today's my birthday! Woo-hoo! Seventeen! I'm finally seventeen! Ya-haaaaaaa!!!!!! I'm so frickin happy! Yay! Eh-hem, anyway, I just wanted to say that. In any case, please review and remember, no flames! 

_Preview! _

Next chapter: Why Did You Follow Me? 

Sputtering slightly, I quickly raised us both onto to our feet. Naru must have been just as embarrassed as me because she spun around to not look at me and poked her fingers together, blushing furiously. I thanked God that we were as intimate as that because otherwise I would have had to been scraped off of the floor... and the walls... and the ceiling... and the surrounding people... and the–you know what? I'm going to stop now. Let's just say it wouldn't be pretty... 


	8. Why Did You Follow Me?

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! I finally got the eighth chapter done! I know I've been a while, but hey... look at it this way, at least I'm not one of those people who don't update for several months. I do update about every month, but I still am very sorry about being so slow. Sometimes I just don't feel like writing, but I'm sure all of you have had those types of days before, right? In any case... **_why aren't you people reading my new story!!!!_** Waaaaahhhhh!!!!! I worked so hard and none of my normals are reviewing it! _(sniffle)_ Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. I thought that since you guys liked my stories now, you'd also like my brand new ones too. Oh well... whatcha' gonna do? _(sighs)_ Well, in any case, it's time to thank my reviewers. I'll talk to ya later. 

**Rainer Aquarias:** gee, thanks. I've become one of your favorite authors? Frankly, I'm very flattered. I also really like your review. The fact that you say I have an amazing way with words also makes me feel very pleased. Thank you so much 

**VampyreGirl:** thank you for the review. It was really cool. But the ending? The ending for what? The volume or entire story? Because if it's the latter, that won't be a for a very long time. But the volume will end in a few more chapters. Hope you keep on reading! 

**KrishnaChan:** wow, the best... that was a very kind review. thank you very much! 

**daswitxxher:** thank you for the awesome review! and when is the next update? Well... it's _now_! Duh! _(laughs)_ Just kidding! thank you 

**Lahmikhara:** thank you for the review! I'm glad you like my cliffies! I do really work hard on them! Thank you 

**red52:** nice to know people do like my changes in Keitaro's personality. I wasn't sure or not if it was a good idea. And now I'm just sounding like an idiot because I totally changed his personality in my new story. Stupid... ahem, in any case, thank you 

**lifelessdummy:** thank you! Thanks! You're wonderful! I will! Soon! Okay! I just did! Hope you like it! 

**Niak:** wow... tied for best one ever... err, if you don't mind me asking, which one is the best? Thank you no matter what though. It's really nice 

**Anubuss:** yeah, the stalker thing just popped into my mind all of a sudden when I was joking about stalkers with a friend. And yeah, I wanted Nyamo to finally be able to talk because it just annoyed the crap out of me when she didn't. and a humor rating beyond S? no idea what that could be, but I'm flattered none the less 

**Filipino_Sniper:** well, the next chapter is up, so I hope you're happy! And the romance scene or bloodbath? Well, maybe there could be both. Thank you for the review 

**someone:** thank you so very much for the great review. the top of your list... I am _so_ very much flattered. Thanks! 

**NefCanuk:** heh, funny how someone actually commented on the relationship between Tama-chan and Gidget. I wondered if anyone would ever see that. Thank you for the review, and good job for being the only one to remark about it! 

**Android K:** hello, my pre-reader! How ya doing? thanks for both the review and for helping me. The next chapter is up, (you probably already knew this) but thank you anyway. and the Hypello language? Thank you very much for the shweet review? it wash sho very nice of you? Can't wait for the next Shilent Mobiush? 

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you. I will. Thank you for also wishing me a happy birthday. It was nice 

**llilbsbllstar10:** so sorry for not having Naru in the last chapter, but she can't be in every single one, now can she? Wait, don't answer that. I don't want crazed Naru fanatics barking at me to put in their precious Naru. But don't worry, there's a bunch of cool scenes between our two lovers for the next few chapter. Hope you like them. Don't die on me though, I wouldn't like that. And also, congratulations on getting the last few volumes. I hope you enjoy them 

**Vivi239:** thank you for the great review! I like it when people compliment my writing skills. And don't worry, I'm sure you'll become a very good writer yourself. Just keep on practicing! Or in my case, read hundreds upon thousands of books, mangas, magazines, and many other such literate things. Trust me, things will start sticking in your head after a while 

**jennyjennai:** ghost in the machine? Strange... anyway, hope you enjoy all of my previous chapters as well, and also hope you enjoy the new chapter too. Thank you... and keep on reviewing 

Thank you to all my precious reviewers! 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 8: Why Did You Follow Me?**

"..." – talking   
"(...)"– English 

Naru stood there, her long hair pinned to one side. Her clothes were totally wrecked, her shorts so short, her panties were almost showing, her shirt ragged, five inches above her navel. I saw so much skin, she might as well of been wearing a bathing suit. Even though I probably would have been a bloody mass very quickly, I appreciatively gave her body the one-two. Her long, shapely legs and flat stomach were covered in minute scratches, but _God_, she looked so amazingly gorgeous! 

"Naru, how are you?" I asked hesitantly. "What... what are you doing here?" 

Naru didn't answer. She just stepped forward menacingly. I stood up slowly and nervously. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nyamo move to hide behind Gidget. How I wished I could have been with her at that moment. Gidget made an excellent barrier against attacks, though I thought it would have made much of a difference with Naru performing the assault. Naru raised a fist, and I closed my eyes. This was going to hurt. But instead of a hard blow like I expected, all I felt was a light tap on my chest, and then someone fall onto me. I opened my eyes to see Naru's head buried in my chest, her arms around my chest, and she was sobbing softly. It seemed like she was about to crack into a million pieces at any moment. "Naru?" I said gently. 

"You stupid jerk," she whispered angrily. "I ought to break every bone in your body." I stiffened. Oh man, I was going to be put in a coma. But hey, if that was what was going to happen, I might as well go happy. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to me, and rested my chin on top of her head. 

"I'm sorry," I murmured. I really was. Naru almost never acted like this. She was never this vulnerable, this fragile. I've always known her for her fiery temper, her hard-headedness, and especially, her strong will. She was always the strongest out of all the other girls at Hinata House, and I loved her for that. I hugged her a little harder for a second before murmuring again, "I'm so sorry, Naru." 

"I don't want your apologies, you jerk. I want... " 

"Shh... " I moved one hand from her waist to the base of her head. Tilting her head back so that I could see her face, I was surprised to see tiny trails of tears flowing down her slightly flushed cheeks. God, I don't care if she was happy, angry, or sad, she would always be my beautiful goddess. Smiling tenderly, I leaned my head down until I was touching noses with her. "I don't care if you don't want them, I'm still sorry." 

She blushed and smiled softly. My gaze moved to her full lips. God, all I wanted to do at that moment was kiss her, to just capture her lips and hold her to me. I hadn't realized it until then, but I had really, _really_ missed her. I missed her face, her voice, her touch. I contemplated to just do it and consequences be damned. Maybe I shouldn't... But then I saw her lips purse slightly and her eyes close, as if she was waiting for something. Oh... screw it. 

I was about to kiss her when something rammed into my knees, and I fell backwards, Naru falling with me. I land on something hard and curved while something soft and _very_ curved landed on me. I blushed as I realized what had happened. Gidget had head-butted me again, a little harder than usual this time, and I had fallen backwards onto him with Naru on top of me. I blushed even harder when I found out how much Naru's chest was pressed against mine, and the fact that my leg had found its way through hers, so that she had ended up riding it. My mind conjured up one of its X-rated fantasies with her, and I couldn't help but have a tiny nosebleed. 

Sputtering slightly, I quickly raised us both onto to our feet. Naru must have been just as embarrassed as me because she spun around to not look at me and poked her fingers together, blushing furiously. I thanked God that we were as intimate as that because otherwise I would have had to been scraped off of the floor... and the walls... and the ceiling... and the surrounding people... and the–you know what? I'm going to stop now. Let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. 

"(Keitaro?)" I turned to see Nyamo, who was looking at me nervously. "(Is that Naru?)" 

(Um, yeah.)" Oh damn! I had forgotten Nyamo was there! And here I was, about to make out with Naru, right in front of her! That would have definitely made her uncomfortable. Wait... did that mean that she got Gidget to bump me to stop us... on purpose...? Nah, I'm looking too much into this. Man, I'm getting really paranoid, aren't I? Anyway, I wrapped an arm around Naru's waist and turned her to face me. Reverting back to Japanese, I said, "Naru, I'd like you to meet Nyamo and Gidget." The two of them bowed slightly. "Nyamo is helping me with work, and Gidget... well, I found Gidget on a remote island." 

Naru looked at them dazedly. "That's nice... " But then a determined look settled in her eyes and she stared at me critically. I sweatdropped and tried to back away, but her hand shot out and took a firm grasp on my ear. I winced as she tugged. "No," she said grimly. "That's not nice. I didn't come here to meet your friends. Now... we are going to go, and you are not going to complain." She gave another tug to illustrate. 

I winced again. "Huh, where... where are we going?" 

Naru's face contorted into fury. "Back to Tokyo to see the results!" She yelled right in my face. "Where the hell else do you think?! Now shut up and let's go!" 

"Hold on, we're on some island in the middle of the ocean!" I tried to break away from her. I didn't want to go back to prove my horrible failure. I didn't want Naru to know how I had failed _her_. But even if she didn't know, it still wouldn't matter. Heh... damned if I do, damned if I don't, huh? 

Naru tightened her grip on my arm. "And?! We've got plenty of time to get there!" 

"What's the point?" I said dejectedly. "I already know the results." Please! Why couldn't she just drop it?! 

But she wouldn't. "No, you don't!" She turned away from me, so I couldn't see her face. What was she doing? "You won't know until you're actually standing there. You, me, and Mutsumi made a promise to do our best, and now you won't even bother to look at the results." 

Ugh... Why couldn't she just leave me alone? I loved her, but I still wasn't ready to see her yet and discuss this. I still had to finish this recovery trip I had set out on. I wanted to be with her so badly, and yet, at the same time, I wanted to be as far away from her as I could. And so, in the battle of emotions in my soul, I blurted out the stupidest thing I could have said at that moment. 

"Look, Naru... It's over for me, okay... I've given up on Tokyo U!" And then came the kicker. "So just drop dead!" Naru froze. I was shocked at my own outburst. Putting my hand to my mouth, I whispered, "Uh oh, I didn't mean that... I'm sorry." Then I saw her wobble on her feet and begin to lean forward. As she fell, a horrible thought came to mind. Oh crap, don't tell me she actually took my words seriously and died! No, she couldn't of... could she? 

"Naru!" I leaped forward to catch her. "Don't die on me!" I slipped my arms into hers to stop her from falling and pulled her to me. Turning her around, I saw that she was panting hard, and her face was totally flushed. Thank God, at least she wasn't dead, but... Holding her up with one hand, I put the other one to feel her forehead. Damn! It was flaming hot! She must have passed out from heatstroke or something other like I did. 

"Damn," I muttered. "She's burning up." 

"(Keitaro?)" I turned to Nyamo who was looking at Naru in concern. "(Is she okay? She's not looking so good.)" 

I shook my head. "(No, she's not. She passed out from exertion or something like I did. C'mon, let's get her to the tent.)" Nyamo nodded, and I swung Naru into my arms bridal style. Making sure that I had a good hold on her, I walked out of the restaurant with Nyamo and Gidget trailing behind, Tama-chan on my shoulder. I know I could have had Gidget carry her, I might sound perverted, but I _wanted_ to carry her. I wanted to hold her and make sure that she was okay. I hadn't seen her for a while and I had missed her. You could understand, right? 

While carrying her, one of the straps of her shirt fell off her shoulder and partly bared her breasts. What the...?! She wasn't wearing a bra?! And she was that tightly pressed against me?! I thought that I had felt something... No! Argh! No perverted thoughts! Bad Keitaro! Bad, bad, bad! Jesus! Even unconscious this woman had such a strong effect on me that I couldn't believe it. I quickly pushed the strap back up her shoulder and continued on. 

When we made it to the tent, I laid Naru on my sleeping back gently and put a pillow to elevate her head. Nyamo handed me a cold compress. I thanked her gratefully and placed it one Naru's forehead to try and cool her down. Nyamo then bowed and quietly left the tent. I guess that she knew that I wanted some alone time with my girlfriend. I thanked her again, silently. It was nice of her to do so. 

I heard Naru whisper something in her sleep. I leaned over and heard her say it again. It nearly broke my heart. "Kei... don't... go... " Oh, Naru... what had I done? I let you down, and made it even worse by running away. I really was a coward, wasn't I? I let down the woman that I loved more than life itself, and then had hurt her even more. I wished that I could have taken all of her pain away, but how could I when the cause of it all... was me? Naru was sobbing softly, and it caused me so much sadness to see her like that, so small and frail. 

What could I do? Only one thing popped into my mind, to comfort her. Sweeping her into my arms, I deposited her onto my lap. There, I slowly rocked her back and forth, cooing soothing words of comfort. Naru's sobbing eventually subsided, and she fell back into peaceful slumber. I sighed, still rocking her back and forth, and buried my face into her silken hair. Breathing in her scent, I relaxed and held her dear in my embrace. She was my everything, and I had hurt her. "I'm sorry, Naru," I whispered. "I hope you can forgive me when you wake up." 

Comforted by her warmth and scent, I gradually fell into a half doze. I only woke up when I felt Naru move restlessly in my arms. Opening my eyes, I saw her wiggle around to sit more comfortably in my lap. Oh, so she was awake? Might as well have some fun then. Moving my hands to her hips, I lifted her up and turned her so that she was facing away from me, set her back down, and pulled her into my chest. Naru yelped, and I smiled. "I'm glad you're awake," I whispered. 

Naru huffed and crossed her arms in front of her. She puffed out her cheeks and looked away from me. "You jerk! Don't think I didn't hear that 'drop dead' part! I came all the way out here to look for you, ruined my clothes, and passed out from exhaustion! And all you can say is 'drop dead?!'" 

"I'm sorry," I repeated. "I really am, Naru." I kissed her neck gently and nuzzled it with my nose. She sighed and relaxed, snuggling back into me. I was happy. I was back with the person I loved, holding her in my arms. But why was she here? I did tell her that I was fine and that I would be back. Wasn't that enough? I had to know. "Naru?" I asked. She responded with a sleepy nod. "Why did you follow me? I said I'd be back, so why are you here?" 

Naru stiffened, and the slumped forward. "Why did I follow you? You dummy... " She began to shake softly, and then she turned around in my arms. I was surprised to find she was crying freely. The tears streamed down as she looked at me forlornly "Because I love you, you jackass! I love you so much it hurts! And I... I... " She just stopped to turn around to face me fully, cried into my shoulder, and repeatedly pounded me on the chest. Now, this might seem like a sappy movie storyline, but trust me, it's different. The damsels? They're not all that strong, so it doesn't hurt when they hit you, but Naru... Let me put it to you this way. Think of sledgehammers being slammed into your body at a constant rate. Get the picture? No? Well then I envy you, you lucky, lucky people. Now... 

"Oww, oww, oww, oww... " My body was starting to get really sore so I stopped her by turning her back around and crushing her to my body. I buried my face into her hair and tightened my grip on her waist. "Shh... " I murmured as tenderly as I could. "Please don't cry, Naru. You know I hate to see you cry. So please... please don't." 

"You stupid idiot," Naru sniffled. But she did stop crying and firmly held my hands that were holding her waist. She leaned back on my shoulder and snuggled back into me even more. I rested my chin in the crook of her neck and sighed, breathing in her scent. My thumb had made its way free of Naru's grasp, and was now rubbing tiny circles around her navel. She giggled at my ticklish gestures and shifted in my lap so that she was sideways to me, her legs sticking out to my right. After that, she swung her arms around my neck, lifted her face up to it, and began to nibble on it teasingly. 

I groaned softly as I felt her make her way up my neck. My ministrations on her stomach strengthened, and I pressed a little firmer. Naru took my wager and raised it as she made her way to my earlobe and latched onto it. I shivered and almost faltered in my rubbings. Just like her, my ears were also sensitive. Trying to make sure I would not lose this battle, I stopped my thumb right under her navel, and pressed my hand firmly into it. I remembered how she had reacted last time I did it. Though I seemed to have forgotten what the last time led to, but at the moment, I really couldn't have cared less. Meanwhile, my other hand had swept up her back inside her torn shirt to splay its fingers between her shoulder blades. 

Naru moaned softly as I pushed her towards me, planting a kiss on her bare shoulder. She released my ear and shifted again so that she was straddling me. I smiled and leaned back to look at her. Her eyes were closed and a silly smile was adorning her cute face. I smiled again. She was with me again, being held in my arms. My angel, my goddess, my Naru. I couldn't have asked for more. I took my hand off of her stomach to cup her cheek. Naru's eyes opened halfway, and she looked at me coyly through her lashes. I smiled again and pushed her towards me. Our lips connected in a sweet kiss. My hand on her cheek also went inside her shirt to push her closer, and hers went against my chest. She nudged forward and knocked me onto my back. Our mouths opened to deepen the kiss. 

I suddenly had a wanting to see her. I wanted to see more of her silken, creamy flesh. My hands moved out of her shirt ad to her shoulders. I snagged a finger in one of her straps and slowly slid it down the side of her arm. Naru followed en suite as she moved to the bottom of my shirt and pushed it upward, revealing my slightly toned stomach. Our liplock became more passionate as we lost ourselves in the moment. I guess after our lovers' interlude, the two weeks between our next meeting had made us want each other even more. Heh, guess absence _does_ make the heart grow fonder. 

Saying that, my hand moved to her other strap and forced that one don too. Naru's breasts were half-shown to me now, and I broke off from her to look at her form. My eyes cased her pale skin, and then switched back to stare at her deep, brown eyes. "You are so beautiful... " One of my fingers caressed her through the valley of her breasts to land on her ruby lips. 

Naru blushed and looked down. "Thanks. You've gotten rather handsome also," she smiled shyly. "You've even got a tan." She pushed my shirt up even farther so that my chest was shown. My tanned cheeks also gained a blush as she rubbed her palms around my chest before laying her cheek on it. "Some nice muscles too," she murmured into me. 

I smiled. She seemed so innocent. Totally unlike the way she usually was. Resting a hand on her head, I stroked at her hair, and then smirked. She looked like she was getting mighty comfortable in that position. Not that I minded, I was enjoying it too. Still, I like to have a little fun with my Naru, even if it meant I had to pay for it afterward. Thinking that, an idea came to my mind. It made me blush a little, but hey, I saw her, right? Putting a finger to her chin, I lifted her head, and she looked at me happily. "You look happy there, Naru." 

She nodded. "Yes, very much so." She then leaned down and presses her lips to my chest. I groaned from her action and decided to just do it. I lifted Naru's head again, and she glanced at me in disappointment. I grinned and took off my shirt. She looked surprised until she grinned back, and then did something that made me totally regret what I just did. 

Her grin grew to an almost insane degree, and before I could even react, she attacked me in a flurry of tickling. I burst out laughing as I felt her slender fingers deftly move over me, Naru laughing along as she continued my horrendous torture. After what seemed like an eternity in that strange Hell, I was able to grab her hands, stopping her. I then was able to flip us over, so that Naru was beneath me, her wrists pinned next to her head. I hovered above her and growled almost ferally. "Don't... do that... " 

Naru looked almost frightened as she saw the look on my face. I wouldn't be surprised. Even though her actions were purely teasing in nature, it made my blood boil and my hands itch for reasons to touch her. I didn't like to be teased like this, especially after I had waited for so long for us to be together like this in the first place. My lustful glare made Naru whisper in a half-awed, half-scared manner. "Do... do what?" 

"Torture me. Perverts don't like to be tempted when they know nothing will come out of it. If they are, bad things will happen. Very, very... " I halted as I caught her lips in a hungry kiss, my hands moving to tangle their fingers into her hair. I stopped kissing her, the two of us panting, but kept my fingers where they were. "Bad things." Yes, I officially admit it. I am a pervert. I don't care anymore. I like seeing Naru naked. I like touching her. I like all of those things. But frankly, I don't care what you say, I'm happy with who I am. "So unless you want the next person to come into this tent to get an eyeful, I suggest we do something else." 

Naru smiled slyly. "And what if I want them to get an eyeful?" 

I blinked. "You're mighty flirty." 

She looked down embarrassedly. "Well, I can't help it. I've missed you. I've missed you a lot. You know I've never felt this way about anyone before. I've never really loved anyone. And so I... " I quieted her by kissing her tenderly again. I understood, I really did. I couldn't explain how, but I just did. Naru sighed in contentment before pulling me closer, her arms around my neck. I smiled inwardly at her pleasurable sound before concentrating back on my beautiful girlfriend. 

Then something occurred to me. The reason I left in the first place: the Tokyo University examination. I wondered how she did. Did she pass? Did she fail? What? I leaned back from her, and she glanced at me curiously. "Hey, Naru," I said. "Did you get into Tokyo U?" 

She looked up at me with a surprised look on her face. "Honestly, I have no idea. I guess I did pretty good on the test." 

What the... ! Didn't she even go look?! What was she doing here then?! "What do you mean?! Didn't you go to find out?!" 

Naru's face went through several expressions before it settled on one of the ones that I feared the most, her death glare. She pinched me tightly in the side, gritting through her teeth in a dark tone. "And whose fault is that I'm on some island while the results are posted, huh? Yours!" 

"Gah... " Damn! Naru could be so damn scary sometimes! Her eyes just seemed to drill into me, letting me see nothing else, and trust me, it wasn't a pleasant sight to look at. "Wrong question? Sorry?" Naru released my side, and I sighed in relief as I rubbed it a little. Man, Naru's pinches hurt almost as much as her punches, and she could do these more often. Painful... 

Naru lost the death glare, but kept a slightly pissed-off look. "But enough about me, what about you? You going to tell me why you're here and why you ran away?" 

Oh man... she just _had_ to ask me that, didn't she? Well, I couldn't really expect much other than that, now could I? I was the one to bring up Tokyo U, and even if Naru didn't exactly know that that was what the problem was, I inadvertently brought this upon myself. So what was I to do? Should I lie, tell the whole truth, part of the truth, what? But all I could say was a string of incoherent babble. "Umm... well... you see... the thing is... " 

Naru put her hands on either side of my face and pulled me closer. I became anxious as I saw her stare at me critically. But all she did was firmly press her forehead to mine, still keeping that same drilling stare. I began to sweat slightly until she spoke up. "Was your exam really that bad?" 

"Yeah... " I leaned back off of her, and Naru scooted back from underneath me, resting on her knees while I sat up cross-legged. I slumped over, hanging my head down, my hands folded in my lap. Okay, so I would tell her. I had to. She was the woman I loved. It was better for me to tell her then for her to find out from someone else, right? I hoped so. "In fact, when I skimmed the last part, I knew I had it made." 

"What?! Really?! But then what?" Naru said, a look of pure shock adorning her face. Yeah, I bet she would have. Me knowing the entire exam? Yeah, and a man saw Santa Claus having tea with the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. No, wait, I think that someone actually did see Santa Claus having tea with someone, but I believe it was with a leprechaun and Napoleon. I swear, the wackos these days... 

I kept looking down at my lap as I slowly took off my glasses. My vision became blurry, and I was grateful for that. At least that way, I wouldn't have to see Naru's disappointed and disgusted face when I told her. That was the one thing I never wanted directed at me. "I guess I got a bit over-confident... a bit lax... During the test, I sort of... fell asleep. When I woke up, I had only five minutes left, and the last half of my exam was blank." 

"You fell asleep during the exam?!" Naru screeched. I flinched. Her voice sounded so demeaning, so spiteful. I wished that my ears would had just fallen off at that moment. "What are you, retarded?!" 

"It would seem so," I said, closing my eyes. My vision might have been blurry, but I still could see the look of disgust on Naru's face. I felt so depressed. I just wanted to run away and get the hell out of there. But I couldn't. I couldn't, and I had to stay. Taking a deep breath, I continued. "Back to the story. I got desperate, so I started writing down a lot of stuff. But I honestly can't remember what any of it said." Damn... that was horrible. The first answer that I thought was right, I wrote down. I had no time to consider anything. And the essays, oh God, I would be surprised if they could decipher my almost illegible writing. I finally opened my eyes and looked back into my lap. My face must have looked like the one of a dying man. "God, I felt so pathetic after everything was over... I screwed up my last chance, and I couldn't bring myself to face any of you." 

Naru's features softened. "I see... " Her hands moved to hold my face, and she lowered it to hers. I closed my eyes and waited for her touch. It came all right. My eyes snapped open as Naru pinched my cheeks between her fingers and stretched my face out. "Who told you to go all shinji on me?!" She growled. She stretched my face out even farther, and tears unbiddingly came to my eyes. "Are you a man or what?! Why didn't you just explain that to us before you left, huh?!" 

"I'm sorry!" I cried. My arms flayed back and forth as I tried to escape her grasp. "Just please let go of me! You're really hurting my cheeks!" She lost the pissed off look and released my face. I closed my eyes and sighed in relief. "Thank y-mmph." My thanks were cut short as Naru covered my mouth with hers. I willingly gathered her into my arms as she encircled her arms around my chest. 

When we stopped, she planted her forehead against mine. "I'm sorry," she murmured. 

I merely shook my head and put my glasses back on my face. When Naru's face came back into focus, I smiled and gave her a peck on the nose. "It's okay. I deserved that." 

Naru's face spilt into a beaming smile and she lightly tackled me backwards. I felt the air escape from my chest as she landed on me. While I tried to regain my breath, she smiled softly and hugged me, burying her head into my throat. "Alright," she said happily. "Pass or fail, we're going home. Everyone's been worried sick about you." She continued in a quieter tone. "...Especially me. I've missed you so _much_." Naru hugged me tighter and snuggled even closer. It was like she was trying to become a part of me. Needless to say, I found the entire situation extremely blissful. "I never really thought about you leaving after we got together. I should have known better, huh?" 

"I'm sorry," I said. "But I'm here now, aren't I?" 

Naru lifted her head to look at me. She grinned. "Yes, and I'm going to make sure you never run away again." 

I grinned back and tangled my hands in her hair. Lowering her head until we bumped noses, I leaned up and kissed her gently. "Oh, really?" I uttered against her. "And what would that be?" 

"You're doing it right now," she purred back. 

"Then I think I like this tactic." 

"Shut up and kiss me." 

I smirked and rolled us over onto her back, settling my weight on her. I took her hands, interlaced them with mine, and then pinned them above her head. "Whatever you say, my love. Whatever you say... " 

***** 

We both emerged from the tent giggling like little kids. Naru sighed dreamily as she put her arms around my waist and hugged me to her. "My little pervert certainly knows how to treat his woman." I simply laughed and kissed her cheek. Now for all the _real_ perverts out there, I will say this. _We did not go all the way_, only a very mild second base. In fact, the extent of our romantic interlude was me just gently fondling her chest. And I'm happy to say that I wasn't punched into oblivion because of it. If anything else, Naru actually encouraged it when she removed her torn shirt, giving me total access to her breasts. I was _very_ happy from these circumstances. But in any case, back to the present... 

"My love... " I stopped her and pulled her to me, her feet a little off of the ground. "I will always treat you right as long as I live. And as long as I'm put into the hospital for making advances." 

Naru smiled brilliantly and pulled my head down to hers. "Works for me." She closed the distance between us, and I gladly accepted what she offered. Our little moment was interrupted, however. 

"Well, it seems like you two are enjoying yourselves." We broke off to see Seta grinning viciously at us with Nyamo nervously standing next to him. We both blushed furiously, and Naru let go of me, but I refused to lessen my grip on her waist. You couldn't blame me for feeling a little possessive after what we just did. Naru didn't take it the wrong way, though, because she did turn around, but she also placed her hands over the ones that were around her waist. 

"Hello, Seta. It's nice to see you again." Naru said. 

"Nice to see you too, Naru." He took a drag of her cigarette and smiled through the smoke. "So it was true what Haruka said about you two getting together. Good for you two." 

Naru blushed and looked down. I felt her squeeze my hands and murmur under her breath, "Yes. Very good." I smiled and rested my chin on her shoulder, tightening my grip on her. It was nice to know she was happy to be with me. Naru then looked back up. I noticed her eye Nyamo. "Is that the Nyamo you were trying to introduce to me earlier, Kei?" She whispered. 

"Yeah," I whispered back. "She works with Seta and me on the excavations here. But you have to speak with her in English because it's the only language she understands." 

"Oh, okay." She raised a hand in greeting. "(Hi, Nyamo. My name is Naru Narusegawa.)" 

Nyamo nervously bowed. "(H-hello, N-Naru.)" 

Naru looked at her strangely. "Did I do something to offend her?" She whispered to me. 

I shook my head. "No, she's just like this around new people. You should have seen her when we first met. She couldn't stop stuttering." I chuckled at the memory. I then focused my attention back on Nyamo. "(Nyamo, it's okay. Naru won't hurt you... as long as you don't piss her off, that is.)" 

"(Hey!)" Naru cried. She pinched my side for a second before breaking into giggles. "(That's not true! Nyamo, don't listen to this guy, he's nothing but a pervert.)" She then got serious and stared at Nyamo. "(He didn't try to grope you, did he? Because if he did... )" She suggestively cracked her knuckles. 

I gulped nervously. She wasn't serious, was she? However, it wasn't long before I got annoyed instead. Naru knew I would never do that... well, at least not intentionally. But now I'm just committing suicide, aren't I? Okay... back to reality... I tightened my grip on her waist and nearly growled. "You know that's not true, Naru," I said indignantly. "The only female I ever want to grope is you." I immediately froze, fully realizing what I had said. Seta looked at us before just bursting out laughing while Nyamo tilted her head in a confused manner. I sure was glad she didn't understand Japanese. Otherwise she'd probably be in hysterics, just like Shinobu. 

Meanwhile, both Naru and I were back in furious blush mode. I nervously waited for Naru's wrath, but it never came. Instead, all I received was her interlacing one of her hands with mine, squeezing it softly. "You know what?" She murmured. "I'm not really bothered anymore when you say things like. In fact, I get a sorta fuzzy feeling when you do." She rested her head on my shoulder and looked up at, a mischievous smile on her face. "Just don't make a habit out of it... or else." 

I sighed in relief and smiled back at her. "Yes, ma'am." Well, at least my foot-in-mouth disease wouldn't totally be the death of me. But... I still had to be careful if I wanted to live the average lifespan of a human being. Our little tender was broken, though, when Nyamo spoke up again. 

"(Keitaro?)" 

I looked up at her. "(Yes, Nyamo?)" 

"(Do you two always joke around like this?)" 

I cocked my head in puzzlement. "(No, not usually. Why?)" 

"(Well, when I was near your tent earlier, there was a lot of laughing and giggling going on. I wanted to go in to see what was so funny, but Mr. Seta wouldn't let me.)" Okay, now that... that... Well, you know how I said earlier that Nyamo was pretty acute for someone so innocent? Scratch that. She was still as innocent as a little babe. And you know Naru's and mine furious blush mode? It was back after a couple second break, and how now elevated to atomic cherry meltdown. If either of us became any more embarrassed, our heads would have exploded. They nearly did with Seta's next comment. 

"(Oh yeah, you two. It sounded like it was hilarious. Do you think you could tell it to us?)" He took his cigarette between his fingers and smirked. "(Or if you'd prefer... show it.)" 

And that did it. Naru and I took one panicked look at each other before springing apart, opening a gap between us of about five feet. Naru put her head into her hands, trying to cover her blush and muffle her frantic muttering. What the heck was she saying? It sounded something like, let's see... "Bad Naru, naughty Naru, perverted Naru"? Okay... once Naru started talking to herself in the third person, I _knew_ she was embarrassed. And her... delicate choice of words? Naughty Naru? What kind of thoughts was she _thinking_? And was I any part of them... 

I tore my view from her to look at Seta. His eyes were closed and he was smiling innocently, but when he opened one eye to look back at me, I saw the glint that twinkling mercilessly at me. At that one moment, staring at him with a totally embarrassed Naru at my side and completely mystified Nyamo next to him, I had never wanted anything more then to strangle Seta to within an inch of his life. This feeling was probably conveyed to my body language because Seta glanced down at my hands before taking a step back. 

Looking down, I noticed that my fingers were trembling, as if itching to take hold of something and just _squeeze_ it. I looked back up at Seta and grinned. This just proceeded to scare him even more because apparently my right eye was twitching every so often giving the appearance that I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. I certainly felt like it. "Seta... " I managed to ground out between clenched teeth. "As much as I would like to repeat the... _joke_... " At this, Naru's head snapped up, and she stared at me with a look that promised death even I even tried. "I'd rather not be put into a coma. Now... " 

I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. I gazed up and smiled dangerously at him. "I know I'm not as good as you in martial arts," I muttered. "But don't tempt me." Hell, I don't know why I said that. I guess I was caught in the moment of being embarrassed and pissed off. Even though... it _did_ do the trick, as he smiled back, a little anxiously in fact. 

Backing off, I smiled again, this time a little friendlier. "Well!" I laughed. "Now that that's over, it's time for me to get back to work!" I then began to walk off towards the excavation sire, leaving everyone behind. 

"Keitaro! Wait!" turning around, I saw Naru running towards me. She stopped right in front of me, an angry look on her face, and pointed a finger in my face. "_Where_ do you think _you're_ going?" 

I stared blankly at her. "Umm, back to work?" 

"I don't think so!" She grabbed my cheek and pulled. 

"Oww!" Damn it, that hurt! Why'd she have to keep on doing that? It was pointless and just painful! Taking my hand, I detached her fingers from my skin and looked at her in an annoyed fashion. "What'd you do that for? It's just mean!" 

"Oh, don't be such a baby," she muttered. "It didn't hurt that much." Right, and Kitsune would give up drinking for the rest of her life. Saying that any physical injury given by Naru didn't hurt was like saying a nuclear bomb wouldn't cause any damage. I should know, Su _really_ likes her radioactive experiments. "Listen," Naru continued. "I said you were coming back, and you are going to whether you like it or not!" 

"Yes, ma'am," I scoffed. God! She could be so damn bossy sometimes! "And I said I would, Naru, but I'm still pretty sure I failed. Besides... " I motioned towards the excavation site. "I still have work left here to do." That's right, I promised myself I'd do this and nothing, not even the love of my life, would stop me from doing it. This was something I had, not to mention _wanted_, to do. 

Naru looked slightly surprised. "Work? You man this whole excavation thing?" 

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been working with Seta and Nyamo looking for artifacts and such. I don't know why, but the work has been really exciting lately." Just thinking about it made me so thrilled. I never realized how fun archaeology was. When I first thought of it, it made me conjure up images of dusty old museums and dried-out professors. But now... now it was cool to do the actual work. Being with a guy like Seta just usually did that to a person, I guess. I must of looked thrilled too because I was bouncing eccentrically on the balls of my feet while talking. 

Naru blushed for some strange reason. I wondered why she did that. Did I do something? She looked down at her feet and poked her fingers together, mumbling something under her breath that I could not hear. "Naru?" I asked. "You say something?" 

She looked back up at me and spoke louder. "I said, umm... could... could you show me what you're doing?" 

My face registered in surprise. She wanted to know what I was doing. I smiled. That was nice to know. "If you want." She smiled, and I grinned back at her, my eyes closed. Scratching the back of my head, I held out my other one towards her. She walked over and took hold of it, her small hand sliding into my larger one. She smiled happily, and I did too before shouting out to Seta and Nyamo. They walked towards us as I talked to Naru. "I can tell you a little of what's happening, but if you want to know everything you'd better ask Seta or Nyamo. They've been working on it longer than I have and know more." 

She nodded, still smiling. There was something about that smile though. It was as if she was hiding some sort of secret, one that she would never reveal... under any circumstances. As I glanced sidelong at her, I made a promise to myself that I would find out what she was thinking. As we were waiting for Seta and Nyamo to come to where we were, Naru caught me looking at her. She looked at me in a perplexed manner, and I glanced away, embarrassed, and absently scratched my nose. I promised I would find out. 

Seta and Nyamo finally got to where we were, and the four of us made our way to one of my earliest excavation sites. Actually, it wasn't so much an excavation site as it was a giant crater that a meteorite would make after it drove itself into the ground. I sweatdropped at the manner of getting stuck in it after I dug too far deep and couldn't get back out until someone had found me and brought a ladder. I sighed mentally. It _was_ pretty stupid of me to dig about twenty feet into the ground without thinking about how to get back out. 

I shook my head to release me from my thoughts and looked over at the others. Naru was talking animatedly to Seta while he just grinned helplessly. Nyamo was quietly walking one Seta's other side, a reminiscent smile on her face as she stared at the ground, her hands interlaced behind her back. Looking around, I noticed two of our members were missing. Circling around Naru and Seta, I came up behind Nyamo and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped slightly and turned around to look at me. I smiled and moved to her side. 

"(Nyamo,)" I said. "(Do you know where Tama-chan and Gidget are? I haven't seen them since Naru arrived.)" 

"(Oh! Umm... )" She closed her eyes and put a hand up to her mouth. Damn! I still couldn't get out the thought that she looked and acted exactly like Shinobu. After thinking for a moment, she opened her eyes and said, "(That's right! They're over by the site that we're heading over towards now.)" 

I smiled again. "(That's nice. I'm sure Naru will be happy to see Tama-chan again. She's been with me since I started this whole recovery trip.)" 

"(Oh, yeah... Tama-chan's originally from where you're from, right?)" 

"(Yep.)" 

By now, we had reached the excavation site. Naru looked over the edge and whistled. "Wooow! What is this?" 

"Part-timer dug this the first time he got here. Busy little guy, ain't he?" Seta laughed 

"Yeah... " I chuckled. "It was a trial spot dig, but I actually got a little carried away and dug a skoche too much. Eh heh heh... " I trailed off as I saw a blank expression on Naru's face as she kept staring into it. "Naru, you okay?" I asked her. 

"This isn't a trial spot dig," she muttered. "It's a freaking crater." See what I mean? Her head then perked up, and she pointed a finger into the site at something. "Hey, what's that?" 

I looked to where her finger lead and saw a large and small greenish blob pounding something against the sides of the site. Looking closer, I realized it was our two missing turtles banging excavating tools on the walls. Hey, considering the intelligence of these two, I wasn't too surprise. "Hey, it's Tama-chan and Gidget!" I waved and shouted to them. "Hey, Tama-chan! Gidget! Up here!" 

Tama-chan turned and lifted her head. She noticed us and waved back, an archaeologist shovel in her flipper. "Myuh!" She cried. "Myuh myu-" She stopped as her head snapped up and she shakily turned to Gidget, who had a pickaxe wedged into the wall of dirt towering over them. "Myuh?" She asked nervously. Gidget grunted, his mouth still clamped on the pickaxe's handle. Tama-chan sweatdropped and began to back up slowly. That's when the two of them exploded. 

My eyes bugged out as the two of them were rocketed upwards by a tsunami of boiling water. I barely heard the others' screaming over my own and the downpour of water upon us. The minute it touched me... Well, let's just say... _It was so fucking hot!_ Gaahhh! I thought my skin would fall off just because of the steam alone, let alone the scalding liquid! I screamed in pain until the mini-flood subsided. I then heard Naru screaming. 

"Kyaaahh! Pervert! Not in public!" Next I saw a blur, which had to have been Seta, go flying off into the sky, only to fall back down, landing on a palm tree. I could literally see the blood spurting from yet another gash imbedded in that thick skull of his. I sweatdropped with a few mixed feelings. One, I was happy that it wasn't me. And two, I was sorry that it had to be Seta. 

"Umm, Naru?" She twisted her head from Seta's figure to glance at me. "I think you just punched Seta again." 

Instead of being surprised or embarrassed, she instead just gaped at me, her mouth slightly open and her eyes full of fury. Why was...? "(Keitaro...?)" It was then I noticed that I was gripping something tightly in my arms. I knew I had grabbed onto something after the dig spot exploded with the hidden hot spring, (because that's what the water had originated from) but I did not know what it was at the time. 

What it was was a very embarrassed, extremely blushing, slightly frightened Nyamo. I froze. It wasn't hard to say that my panic system was definitely trying to get me to do its namesake and perform something stupid. Luckily, or perhaps _unluckily_, it didn't need any help. Naru quickly ran over to my side and screamed, "Now you're groping a little girl?!" before letting out a patented Naru-Punch, and propelling me into the air too... only to land on the same palm tree as Seta... well, more like on him. 

"Wow, part-timer," Seta coughed. "You deal with this all the time?" 

"Yeah," I groaned. 

"Ahh... Reminds me of the good old days with your aunt." 

"She used to kick the crap out of you too?" 

Seta's head moved up to look at me sprawled sideways on his stomach. He raised an eyebrow and grinned questioningly. "Yeah! How'd you know?" 

"Ugh... lucky guess." Yeah, something had definitely happened between Seta and Haruka if they had a relationship like Naru's and mine. There was no way they couldn't otherwise. Great, another mystery upon my already warped life. 

In any case, I rolled off of Seta and the palm tree, fell about fifteen feet to the ground, and then had Seta land on _me_. Urgh, this was starting to get annoying. Seta picked himself off of me and lent me a hand to help me up too. I gratefully took it, and he pulled me to my feet. After a quick brushoff, we both made our way to the others, but quickened our pace when we heard Nyamo shouting our names. "(Mr. Seta! Keitaro!)" She waved frantically and pointed into the now draining passageway. "(Come look what happened!)" 

We rushed over and looked into the dig spot. My eyes widened and mouth dropped a little. This was... this was... "I see, the hot water washed over the walls' surface and... " 

"Wha... what is this?" Naru said, a little surprised herself. "A painting?" 

"This is... this is truly amazing... " Seta murmured, awe and glee shining in his eyes. 

***** 

Hours later, I was running back to the excavation site with a lumbering Gidget behind me, and a eccentric Tama-chan hopping from one of my shoulders to my head, to my other shoulder, and back again. Heh, she wasn't the only one that was excited, I was too. We had made a major find! A giant carving was found that hinted towards an actual turtle civilization. This was a big deal! Seta had been ecstatic, staying near the carving the entire time while the dig spot was drained of the last of its water as he sent me to get ready for an excavation into the heart of Pararakelse. Apparently the carving also showed where we could find the long lost ruins of the turtle civilization. This was so cool! 

As I got closer to the carving, I noticed that there was a large group of people crowded around it. Well, seta did say that there was a lot of local interest, so it wasn't too surprising. I grinned in spite of myself about the discovery. Funny that it was thanks to two turtles just randomly hitting against an old excavation site's walls. Eh, Fate works in funny ways, you know? When I arrived, I caught the two I was looking for out of the corner of my eye. I grinned and ran towards them, waving an arm. "Heeey! Naru! Seta! Over here!" 

They turned to me, and Seta grinned back at me. "Oh, hey, part-timer. Are you all set there?" 

"One-hundred percent!" I said excitedly. "I'm ready to hit the desert. Just give the word." 

Seta sweatdropped as he saw me lug on the numerous heavy bags full of archaeologist tools I had accumulated. They probably weighed about a hundred pounds in total, but in the eve of this exposition we were going to make, they pretty much seemed insignificant to me. He chuckled at my enthusiasm. "Whoa, slow down there, man. You sure you'll be okay with all that stuff around?" 

"Sure, it's nothing I can't handle!" I laughed. "This find had got me all pumped! This is a huge discovery!" 

Seta shook his head and patted me on the back. "You really are excited about this, aren't you, part-timer?" 

I tilted my head and looked at him in a confused and bemused manner. "Of course. I never expected something like this to happen." Why would he ask me if I was excited after I put that show of eccentricity on? What was he thinking? "This is something I really wanted to do." 

Seta's face gained a slightly more serious look. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me straight in the eye. "Are you sure about that, Keitaro?" 

I looked at him strangely. "Of course, Seta. Why wouldn't I?" 

"Well... " He put a hand behind his head and pointed at something with the other. "_That_ mostly... among other reasons." I followed his finger's trail and saw Naru talking to an apparently very nervous Nyamo. Naru? Naru? Why...? Seta answered that question for me before I could even ask it. "She _really_ wants you to go home with her, part-timer. I've never seen her so happy, not _ever_. Not when I tutored her, nor when I came back. She really loves you, part-timer." 

I was taken aback by his comment. For someone who was as oblivious as a brick most of the time, he could be pretty deep and into it at other times. Well, that was just Seta. He surprised you at the strangest times... which in my life was pretty much all of the time. I smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I know," I said. "I know she does, and I love her too, but... " I just waved helplessly. Well, what could I say? That I was a total loser? Wait, don't answer that. I don't think I want to know. 

"Okay, part-timer," Seta sighed. "It's your life. I can't lead it for you, only help." Yeah... Seta really had helped me throughout the time that we had known each other. He helped me form a new perspective on life. Because of him, I'm a lot more positive in my outlook on life. I'm still really jittery when it comes to most things though. Eh, but that's just me. I'm naturally anxious. "In any case... " Seta continued. "We better get going. He took a long drag of his cigarette and blew, the smoke dissolving in the tropical air. He glanced at me questioningly. "So what are you going to do about Naru?" 

I scratched my head. "Well, I suppose we could drop her off at the airport. She really should go back to check the Tokyo U results." 

"Whatever you say, Keitaro." 

I grinned sheepishly. Seta simply sighed and shook his head, chuckling a bit. I shrugged my shoulders at his reaction and turned to face Naru before calling out to her. "Hey, Naru! Come here!" she turned around to look at me and spared on last glance at Nyamo hiding behind Gidget (strange, have to ask her about that later) before walking over to us. I smiled at her perplexed look. "Seta and I are heading out to look for the long lost ruins of the turtle civilization, but I think it be best if you went back home. We'll drop you off at the airport, alright?" 

Her face registered into shock. "Huh... what... No!" She gripped my shoulders and forced me to look in the eyes... which by the way were fairly pissed off. "Now, hold on, Keitaro... What about the Tokyo U results?" 

I put a hand behind my head and looked down at the ground off to the side. "Hey, I know I failed... " I smiled sadly. "But I love the work I'm doing with Seta." I looked up at her and moved my hands up to cradle her face. My thumbs moved to her lips to stop her from talking. I smiled tenderly at her. "But you have a future, so get back to Japan and check those results. I know you aced that exam." Leaning forward, I kissed her gently. "I'll see you again, maybe soon," I uttered against her. "Bye, love." Breaking off, I smiled at her dreamy look and then ran off for Seta's van where he was waiting. Looking at her over my shoulder, I shouted, "Take care of yourself! And say hi to the rest of the girls for me!" 

Naru's dreamy look broke, and she glared at me hysterically. She raised a fist into the air and screamed angrily. "But... Wait... You can't just kiss me like that and the dart off! Get back here!" I froze in the middle of picking some equipment up to turn around and look at her, along with a surprised Seta, anxious Nyamo, and somewhat oblivious Gidget. Naru sweatdropped at our quizzical stares and looked down. She mumbled something under her breath, and then clenched her fists and eyes before looking back up and yelling, "...Seta! Please... I wanna go too!" 

The three of us humans sweatdropped as we watched Naru stare at us, panting heavily, an almost desperate look in her eyes. Seta scratched the back of his head and looked at her in a confused manner. "Uh, oh... kay," he said slowly. Well, this was certainly getting interesting, wasn't it now? Had to see how it all turned out... for better or for worse. 

***** 

Not so long afterwards, the six of us (yes, six; Tama-chan and Gidget came along with us, too) were piled up in Seta's metal death trap... ahem, sorry, _van_... and were now heading out into the desert to find the fabled... Turtle Ruins! Ok, so it wasn't _that_ exciting, but still... it was cool. As we made our way through the sandy wasteland, I made idle chat with Seta about various things, archaeology mostly, while Nyamo played with Gidget and Tama-chan, and Naru looked out of the vehicle's window with a half-wistful, half-exasperated look on her face. Seta broke off talking to me to glance at her and then back at me, one of her eyebrows raised. I simply shrugged at his expression. I don't think I'd _eve_r understand what that woman was thinking... or any other woman for that matter. But that's beside the point and I'm just rambling now, oh well... 

Seta sighed at my vacant expression and called to Naru over his shoulder. "Nary, what's the matter?" She slowly turned her head to look at him. "You're awfully quiet. Sure you don't want us to turn this car around?" 

Her face broke out into a frenzied look as she waved a hand back and forth in front of her face. "Huh, what? Oh, no way! I... I'm completely into this!" She continued in a quieter tone, meant more for herself than for anyone else, but I still heard her anyway. "Or at least watching those two." I chuckled inwardly at her little confession to herself. It was cute. "Besides... " she pulled herself up to lean on the passenger's seat's headrest as she crossed her arms over it. "Those results'll be up for about five more days... Staying another night or two will still give me plenty of time." 

"My, how times have changed," I murmured. Seta only laughed. 

Naru smiled too, but it was more of an annoyed kind of mirth than anything else. "Umm, not to be rude, but... " We both turned around to look at her. She spread her arm out and waved it behind her. "Why do you have a little girl and a gigantic turtle as part of your excavation force?!" Nyamo looked up from Gidget to stare at her, perplexed. Naru wrinkled her nose, her tone becoming more disgusted. "And your van really stinks back here." I scoffed inwardly. Well, what did she expect from three humans and two turtles working under a blazing sun for hours upon end? For us to smell like roses? 

Seta seemed oblivious to her second remark because he laughed and said, "Oh, Nyamo? Everyone else is working on the carving, so we're short a few hands. I figured she'd be able to help us out." 

I nodded my head, agreeing along with him. I put a hand on Nyamo's shoulder and squeezed it fondly. "Also, Nyamo can translate the native language for us." Not to mention she had to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and find what he couldn't. 

Naru's face burst into an impressed expression. "Really?" She moved over to us and put a hand on top of Nyamo's head. "Wow, you're so smart, aren't you, Nyamo?" She giggled, ruffling Nyamo's hair. "And working so hard for a girl your age!" 

It seemed, however, that Nyamo wasn't so pleased about her comment. She gave her one almost terrified look, trembling all the while, and then bolted to hide behind me, peeking at Naru over my shoulder. "Huh?" I looked at Nyamo to Naru to Nyamo and back to Naru again. "Will you look at that?" I laughed, pointing at a frightened Nyamo. "You really scared her, Naru." 

"But... but I wasn't threatening her! It was a compliment!" Naru cried 

I couldn't help but to continue to laugh unchecked. "(Don't worry, Nyamo,)" I joked "(I'll protect you.)" 

"Would you just quit it, Keitaro?!" Naru growled as she grabbed me neck cuff and tried to strangle me. 

My mirth must have transferred to Seta because he joined in on the fun. "Come on now, kids," he chuckled. "Let's not get too feisty back there. You don't want Papa Seta to pull this van over, do you?" He paused. "The road's getting pretty rocky now, though, so hold on – WHOA!" 

That was the last I heard from Seta as his piece-of-crap van's door was flung open. The van tipped slightly, and Naru, Nyamo, Gidget, Tama-chan, and I were propelled out of it and down the steep rock-face we were on to the desert wasteland below. Needles to say, it was not at all pleasant. 

A/N: Wow... eighth chapter is finally done... Somehow, no matter how lazy and how much I don't want to write sometimes, I can't help but feel a great amount of self-esteem whenever I'm done doing a chapter. Maybe it's the fact that I'm proud of my stories. Maybe it's because of you wonderful reviewers. All I know is... that I truly enjoy doing this. It is a great pleasure in my life. _(sighs)_ In any case, I'll talk to you guys after the interview. 

_The Hinata Crew is all crowded together, conversing silently on what's going to happen next. Keitaro, Naru, Nyamo, Gidget, Tama-chan, Taro, and Panic are absent for obvious reasons. The entire group perks up as I walk over to them, oblivious to the horrors awaiting me..._

Me: _(waves)_ Hi, girls! How you all doing? 

Motoko: _(raises head; looks at me dangerously)_ Hello, Yamiga... We've been talking about you... 

Me: _(grins nervously)_ Oh really? Err... about what? 

Kitsune: We were wondering why you not only cut us out of the story completely, but also why our time was spent trekking through the desert like a bunch of nomads?! 

Shinobu: _(tears up; cries)_ I almost got eaten by a snake! And I didn't have any readers to feel sympathy for me! 

Motoko: _(growls)_ Kitsune flashed me to a bunch of motorists and caused a sever accident! 

Sarah: _(whips out her infamous clay face; raises it menacingly)_ I almost died from heat exhaustion! 

Su: _(pouts)_ My Mecha-Tamago 4 ran out of juice and died in the middle of a barren wasteland! 

Mutsumi: _(frowns)_ Oh, my! I fainted! 

Everybody sweatdrops. 

Me: Um, when's that different from any other time you faint? 

Mutsumi: _(smiles absently)_ I don't know. I was just trying to go along with the crowd. 

Me: _(smiles nervously)_ Well, I'm sorry, girls, but I have nothing to do with the basic plot of your timeline. You don't believe me, here, take a look at this. _(snaps fingers; a copy of Love Hina, Volume #8 appears out of nowhere and drops into my hands; talks seriously)_ In this books lies your past, your present, and your future. You will know things that no one should. _(cheekishly)_ And just in case you try to use this information, I'll erase your memories. _(tosses book)_ Have fun! 

Kitsune: _(grabs book and opens it; eyes widen)_ Holy shit! It's us! 

Motoko: Let me see that! _(grabs book too)_ Ahhh! Turtles everywhere! _(throws book into air)_

Su: Turtles?! _(leaps up and grabs book)_ Turtles! So many turtles! Yahoo, suppertime! _(flips page; looks closer)_ Hey, look! It's Shinomu! 

Shinobu: Huh? Can I see that? _(Su hands it over; blushes)_ Waaahhhh! I'm naked! Sempai's going to see me naked! 

Mutsumi: Oh my, can I see? _(takes book; flips a few pages)_ Oh my, look at that! Kei-kun and Na-chan seem to be getting on rather well! 

Sarah: _(looks over Mutsumi's shoulder; scowls)_ Ewww... The dork and the ditz are getting it on! _(looks closer)_ Hey, there's Papa! I miss Papa! 

Me: Well, that's enough of that. _(snaps fingers; book returns to my hands)_

Everybody Else: _(annoyed)_ Hey! 

Me: _(shrugs)_ Sorry, guys, but I can't let you see too much. Would ruin all of the fun I have planned for you later, _(winks)_ wouldn't it? In any case, don't worry, you guys make quite the dramatic entrance in the next chapter. Now... _(smiles sickingly sweet; everybody else shudders)_ Before I erase your memories... 

Su: Awww, Yamiga... Do ya have to? 

Me: Su... 

Su: _(sidles up to me; smiles coyly)_ Pweaseeee, Yamigaaaa? 

Me: _(blushes)_ Errr... Sorry, but no can do, Su. Bye! _(computer console appears; inputs go in; glass capsules around girls)_

Everybody Else: Yamiga! 

Me: Sorry! _(more inputs; gas goes in, consciousness go out; girls slump to floor; sighs)_ Really didn't like to do that, but... oh well... In any case... Please Review! 

A/N: Well, finally got that done, hope all of you have really enjoyed this chapter. I hate to admit it, but I am really starting to get hooked on writing all of these stories. I'm writing so many right now, five to be exact. Anyway, I'm writing so many different stories, my brain is absolutely on the fritz. This would probably explain why I'm only getting about four hours of sleep a day. _(sighs)_ Oh well, hope to get the next chapter out soon and see all of you again soon. Please review and remember, no flames! 

_Preview! _

Next Chapter: Livin' and Lovin; in Pararakelse 

I hugged her to me as tenderly as I could, nuzzling my cheek against hers. Naru sighed in absolute pleasure and contentment as she nuzzled me right back. This was something that came right out of a corny romance movie. The two of us embracing each other tightly in a topical paradise, the sun slowly setting in the far distance, and my love in a skimpy leaf bikini. Heh, it couldn't get any better than this. But then it did. Naru pushed my head back, gazed me fondly in the eyes for a quick second, and then leaned forward to kiss me. Her lips were the best things I had ever felt. However, something interrupted us. A deep rumbling made the two of us break off. What the heck was...? Oh, it was just a bunch of rockets... Wait... Rockets_?!_


	9. Livin' and Lovin' in Pararakelse, Part 1

A/N: Hi, people, I'm back! You wouldn't _believe_ how _sorry_ I am for not updating for so long. _Please_ forgive me! It all started out as minor writer's block and just a lack of interest in anything in particular. But then all these things came rushing at me. From one angle...money problems! I was seriously in debt! From another, school! Even though exams weren't for another month or so, they piled homework on top of us like there was no tomorrow! By the way, exams are now _over_! School ends on Monday, and I'll be free to write to my heart's content! From another, I now have a job! I'm now a proud worker of Wawa! There were some other minor mishaps, like my dad banning me from use of the computer for several weeks, and also a woodworking accident that rendered my ability to write or type utterly useless for a week or so. If you want to know what happened, I'll tell you later at the end of the chapter. But now, it's time for my wonderful reviewers! Thank you for staying with me for so long! I love you all! 

**ZodiacDarkjester:** thank you for the review. I'm glad that you aren't flaming my work just because of an unliked match-up. That often ruins the story for both the reader and the author. But really, thank you for the review. I feel good you like my stories 

**Kiyana Va Sala:** thank you so much for the review! It's nice to know people think I have good writing skills. Makes me happy. Anyway, you're right, it seems as though a lot of N/K have been discontinued. Either M/K or K/K or even harem (every single girl in case no one knew) fics have been blasting out. Not that there's anything wrong with them. I actually find them quite well written and highly enjoyable. Thank you for the remark 

**Lahmikhara:** thank you very much. I like it that you don't hate the personality changes I made in the characters. They're actually rather plausible, in the right circumstances, of course. And don't worry about update time now, it's summer! And that means more time for writing! Yahoooo! 

**Shade:** I'm sorry that you didn't find my story exciting. However, I like the fact that you at least added some constructive criticism instead of just flat-out flaming. I will try harder to be more concise and not make my stories so long-winded. I hope you will like any further chapters I come out with. Thank you 

**UNKNOWN3:** thank you so much! Knowing that my readers like my plot changes and character designs really makes me happy! And yeah, Naru shows her gentle side a lot more in this fic than she does in most. Hope you like it! 

**daswitxxheryahoo.com:** don't worry about now having a life. I don't have one either! _(laughs)_ But anyway, thank you for being so devoted to my story; gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that they're appreciated so much 

**G.A.S.A.M:** thank you for the review. Don't worry, I won't even stop this story. It might take me forever to write because I have to be one of the laziest people on the planet, but I will get it done. Thank you also for the kind compliment on my end of the story interviews. I do try quite hard on them. Thank you very much again 

**zornoid13:** thank you. I will as soon as possible. And thank you for going through the trouble of reviewing my previous chapters. Nice to know you took the time to do it 

**Jorge:** thank you so much! It seems like I've gotten a variety of reviews. Some good, some bad, but none so far that were just hateful flaming. _(sighs)_ Thank you. Oh, and to Jorge: thank you so much for saying that you said that my writing was fluid and compelling. I try my best, and am glad that you enjoy it! Thank you! 

**Doctor Emmit Brown:** thanks for the reviews and the tips. Keitaro was too wimpy for my taste in the manga, so I decided to make him a bit braver and more sure with his actions but still keep the kind, caring self that we all know and love. And on a side-note, your advice is the exact same my mom has been badgering me with...And I've finally decided to take it! _(laughs)_

**Master Marik84:** thank you for the review! Just to be clear, Naru has always had this side to her; it's just that she's always been too afraid to love or care someone because she was afraid they'd just leave her in the end. But here, she trusts Keitaro with all her heart so she's a lot more open with her emotions now. This will especially come into play around the end of this chapter. But, anyway, I will get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Thank you 

**sexybish666:** sucks that your internet went catatonic for a while. Happens to me _all_ the time. (I _hate_ dial-up! Gaahhhhh!!!) But thank you for the fact that you think my coupling is cute. And yes, I have watched the LH anime. In fact, I have the first four volumes. The graphics are very good, but when it comes to plot and character design...either the people making it were rushing to get it done or just not interested at all. Oh well, still rather enjoyable if you like corny humor. Almost made me bust a blood vessel watching it the first time 

**tolkienfan:** thank you so much! Yet another reader who really likes the personality changes I have made in Naru! I finally ripped away the usual anxiety Naru holds towards relationships, making her a lot more true to her heart and thus wanting to be around Keitaro as much as possible 

**Android K:** hello, my pre-reader! How you doin'?! Sorry, I haven't been able to contact you for a while, but like I said before, dad banned me. And don't worry, things are gonna get even stranger (and even a little life-threatening) in the chapter after this one. And to your second question...the beginning of all things is usually at the end... 

**Gothmog:** thank you for the great review! (along with complimenting the earlier chapters) Unfortunately, your request for a more mature relationship will not occur for a long time. For those who own the 9th volume of LH...you'll know what I'm talking about. Not the same scenario, but along the same lines with similar reasons. Heh, sorry...But don't worry, I will update as soon as possible. Thank you once again 

**im an idiot:** thank you! 

**Boombubble:** thank you so much! I like the fact that you say that even though I give Naru a new "lovey-dovey" attitude, I still keep her old one with it. And you should know...I didn't even _plan_ writing a lime for this chapter until I read _your_ review! Then it got stuck in my head and...oh well. In any case, thank you. Oh, and on a second note...great job on your own story; coming along quite nicely, it is 

**Shigure-Souma:** thank you for the review. you will see many more thanks to the summer and the fact that I will not have much to do over it. Heh, heh...just kidding...thank you 

**Niak:** thank you for the review. It's nice that you like my detailed writing style. It's a far cry from what I used to write with merely dialogue and almost nothing else. And also, I've read some of your favorite fic. Lots of angst, but still real good. Then again, I always have been rather partial to angst... _(chuckles bitterly)_

**jennyjennai:** thank you so much for the wonderful and detailed review! I know that I'm still on the low-side grammar and spelling-wise, but I'm honestly trying my best! Really I am! In any case, thank you for all the kind words and that you like the way I make all of the characters interact with each other and all of the scenes that have some rather...intimate...situations. Thank you again 

Thank you to all of my reviewers! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 9: Livin' And Lovin' In Pararakelse, Part 1**

"..." – talking   
"(...)" - English 

When I was born, I think God and all of his other celestial buddies were having some gigantic party in which everyone got severely wasted from some kind of holy liquor; much like the parties that we have at Hinata House every so often. Anyway, in all his natural, drunken glory, God decided to produce a living embodiment of one of the theoretical laws that we humans have made, sorta like when I compared Su to a bottomless pit. In my case...he chose one of the laws of bad luck. More specifically, Gunderson's Law. It states, and I quote, "If something bad could happen, it will...and at the worst possible moment." 

As you have probably already guessed, this would explain for most of the bad things that happen in my life. My normal daily exercises would usually pose no problem, except for the fact that I live in a girls dormitory. There are numerous consequences there already, the most obvious being my so-called "perverted tendencies." Nearly everything I do in that both most holy and unholy of places is always screwed up by the fact that no matter what room I enter, at any time of the day, there is always, to some degree, a half-naked female inside. Most men would think that I'm lucky to have that happen except they don't consider that these _females_ can therefore believe they the privilege, no, the right, to proceed to kick the crap out of me, in which they speedily do. 

I can just imagine God laughing along with all of his good buddies at my somewhat painful antics. They look down upon me and joke about all of the different embarrassing, humiliating, awkward situations that I manage to wind myself into every waking moment of my life. Heh, at least _He_ had the good enough conscious to give me immortality so as I wouldn't die...which I might add is what would have happened my very first day in Hinata House had I not held possession of this awesome power. But damn it, I'm fucking cursed to go with it... 

Oh! Ahem, sorry. The reason I went into this little monologue was because of what was happening to me back on Pararakelse. After all of us were flung out of Seta's van, we fell down a fairly jagged cliff only to land in a dog-pile with of course _me_ on the bottom. Grrr...I could just hear God belly-laughing as he slapped Gunderson on the back for a job well done. Damn you, God! Whoops...did it again. Sorry... 

Anyway, three hours later we were still trekking across the aptly name "Desert of Death" that covered about half of the Pararakelse Archipelago. The place's average temperature during the day was about 110°F and about 20°F during the night, so you could pretty much guess it was not a very nice place to get lost in. 

The sun beat relentlessly down upon us, the heat rose from the almost blinding reflection of the sun on the sand, the stench of sweat hung heavy in the air. Ahhhh...good times. Oh, never mind, just hallucinating a bit there. Actually..._it was Hell!_

"Paah...Heeh..." 

"Se...Seta, come back!" 

"Heeeehh...Wa...Water..." 

Our whining mingled with the arid air, quickly dissolving in the smoldering heat just like the sweat did off of our tired and sore bodies. I looked back and forth across the desert's surface. Nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. I wiped the sandy crud from my eyes, trying to rid them of the irritating intruder. My clothing stuck to my body, molding itself to my form as lay limp, drenched with my sweat. I stole a glance at the others to see if they were faring any better than I was. Not likely. 

It was true. Naru's clothing had become even more ragged than before, her shirt barely covering the bottom of her ample breasts. I was too wiped out from the heat and exercise to appreciate the view, however. She stumbled through the sand, hardly able to stand up. Her eyes were half-closed and also half-dead. She was panting heavily, but from the heat or exertion I could not tell. Most likely it was both, just like me. 

Gidget and Tama-chan weren't any better off than the two of us. They were used to tropical climates and a good amount of heat, but nothing as severe as this. Gidget was used to being near water living near the ocean, and Tama-chan took baths daily in the hot springs; so it wasn't surprising that they looked like they were dying of thirst. Gidget was wandering aimlessly after us, his head hung low, nearly falling in the ground below. Even Tama-chan, who was usually so full of energy, was drifting shakily through the air, every once in a while dropping a couple of feet before slowly floating back up to her original altitude. 

But Nyamo...Nyamo didn't seem to be affected at all by the heat. Instead, she was hardly even sweating. The only look of emotion that she carried was a worried, yet almost amused expression etched onto her tanned face as she watched us struggle to keep moving. It annoyed the _crap_ out of me! 

I sighed and took another look around. Nope, still no Seta. "Oh man," I groaned. "I think we got totally separated from him. Ugh..." 

Naru missed a step and fell down onto her hands and knees. "Why does this place have to have a stupid desert anyway?" she moaned unhappily. 

"Who knows?" I muttered. I offered her a hand, and she took it gratefully before standing up and leaning on my shoulder. "Maybe someone enjoys watching us suffer." Yeah, like _God_ maybe? Stupid... "Oh, you know what?" I said while raising a finger. Naru looked at me without much enthusiasm. "Local legends whisper anyone foolish enough to get lost in the 'Desert of Death' is doomed to never be heard from again." Wow, that was a rather...pointless tidbit of information...Why did I say that again? 

Naru apparently thought it was not only pointless but depressing also because she pushed herself off of me before muttering, "I _so_ did not want to hear that." Yeah...I thought as much. 

"Don't panic," I said, dropping to my knees. I grabbed a shovel from Gidget's pack and began to dig. "What we need to do is sit tight, dig a hole, conserve our energy, and wait for nightfall to come before doing anything else." Great, then we would freeze to death instead of being cook alive but hey, it was better than doing nothing, right? 

Naru followed my example and started to dig too. "I see," she said sarcastically. "Then we put you in the hole and cover you up, right?" Ha ha, very funny. My gut's splitting from the laughter. 

Nyamo just put a finger to her mouth and watched us curiously. We dug for a while, but the only thing waiting for us were several Pararakelse cobras and spotted leeches. Only one thought ran through my mind at that moment: "You have got to be shitting me." Meanwhile, in my mind, my two main processes were battling it out to see who and how the situation would be taken care of. 

[WARNING! WARNING! DANGEROUS ANIMALS DETECTED! REPEAT! DANGEROUS ANIMALS DETECTED!] 

'You know...' my sub-conscious sighed, leaning on its sledgehammer. 'Your consistent blarings of death and destruction are really starting to get annoying.' 

[SO?!] my panic system responded. [IT IS MY JOB TO! HENCE THE DESIGNATION LABEL OF MY SYSTEM!] 

'Still, it is pointless,' my sub-conscious said. 'Spazzing out won't exactly help our master, now will it?' It smirked at its logic of the argument. 

My panic system blinked a few lights before retorting. [OH, REALLY?!] it sneered. [AND WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST?! HAVE HIM CONVERSE WITH LETHAL THINGS SO THAT THEY DO NOT TERMINATE HIS TERM OF EXISTENCE?!] 

My subconscious picked up its sledgehammer and bared it at my panic system. 'Oh, so you want a piece of me, do you?!' 

My panic system splayed out it variety of electronic weapons. [ACTUALLY, THAT WOULD APPEASE ME QUITE GREATLY!] 

'Well then, come and get it!' 

[I SHALL THEN, INTOLERABLE VARIABLE OF KEITARO SYSTEM!] 

**_Warning! The following scenes in the story have been edited due to extreme graphic violence, language, and nudity (don't ask). We apologize for any inconvenience directed toward the audience and politely ask that you will please bare with us...We now return to your regularly scheduled program. Thank you. _**

Okaayy..._that_ was a little weird. Didn't really expect something as bizarre as that to happen...Anyway, sorry for the stupid dialogue. Just trying to add a little levity to the situation. You know...have a good laugh and ease the tension in the air before we all _DIE?! _

"Aahhh! Snakes and leeches!" Naru screamed. "Get them off me!" 

"Nooo, they stole my idea!" I cried. The two of us swiftly dumped the sand back on top of them, effectively burying the creatures before collapsing on the ground. I looked over at Nyamo, who had caught one of the cobras by the neck and was now feeding it to a ravenous Gidget. I whimpered at how easy she made it seem. "Damn it," I muttered. "Looks like we wasted more energy than we actually saved." 

"Gah..." Naru replied. "You are useless!" Jeez, rub it in, why don't cha?! 

"Myaah!" 

My thoughts were broken as I saw Gidget pick up his head happily and began lumbering off on to some unknown location. I slowly rose to my knees, lifted a hand, and tried to call out to him. "Hey, wait up, Gidget. It's dangerous to go off on your own like that." But either he didn't hear me or didn't care because he kept on moving along. I was able to grab a hold of the rope binding on him, however, and found myself being dragged through the sands after him. I vaguely noticed something clamping onto my ankle. Oh well, didn't matter... 

The sand rubbed painfully against my skin, irritating it to no end and making it raw, red, and shiny. I groaned unhappily. This just plain sucked! "I'm getting sand burn back her, Gidget. So could you please stop?" But he just ignored me and kept ambling on to that still unknown plane of existence. Now I was getting angry. 

"Damn it, Gidget, I said stop!" No response. 

"Don't move!" Nothing. 

"Whoa?!" Nada. 

"Please?" Nope. 

I gave up all hope right about there and began to cry silently. Oh man...I was going to die in a stupid desert being dragged by a stupid turtle to some stupid place. I hated my life! 

Then Gidget stopped suddenly. I raised my head to see why and froze. No...it couldn't be. It just couldn't be that place. Great, now I was hallucinating on top of everything else. Could my life get any worse? But...it seemed so real, so solid, so..._there_. But I...I... 

"How did I end up here?" I muttered to no one in particular. It wasn't possible for this place to be here, not a thousand miles away from where it was built from the ground up. "I thought I gave up on you," I said to the mysterious entity. "Ah, To...Tokyo U..." 

And then it changed. 

"...huh?" 

It blurred, the outlines running together and then back again, solidifying into another object. This one, though, I was actually quite happy to see...So this was where Gidget was heading towards...I slowly picked myself up in awe. 

A vast rock formation, you could even call it a mountain. A dense forest of palm trees. A...I gulped, my throat muscles dry and ragged. A pool of cool, crisp, refreshing...water. 

"It's...It's an..." 

"It's an..." 

"Myaahh!" 

"It's an _OASIS!_" 

Within a minute, the five of us ran and dove beneath the surface of the oasis's lake. It felt so cold, but, because of our trek through that wasteland, it felt so _good_ also. As I burst from the surface, I was happy to see the others rejuvenated from the dip, now playfully splashing each other. All of us fooled around in the water for a little bit, just messing around and throwing water onto each other. 

It was then that we noticed the waterfall that was providing the water that filled the oasis we were in. Probably even quicker than when we crashed into the lake, we were under the full force of the relief-giving waterfall. 

I worked my fingers through my hair, the rushing liquid allowing me to free the knots tangled in it, sighing in contentment all the while. "After hours of torture, this feels like heaven," I said, my mouth in a giant grin. 

"I'll say," Naru laughed in agreement. Heh, from what I could tell without looking at her, she was really enjoying this. "Who would've thought this'd have way out here?" 

I turned around to face her. "Yeah, you're rig-Waaahhh!" It was at that opportune moment that I decided to open my eyes, only to see that her shirt had risen up so far up that her breasts were now totally exposed. Now even though I had seen them many times before, mostly by accident and rarely on purpose, there was just something about viewing her naked form and produced extreme and embarrassment within me. Sometimes I really hate how my mind works... 

Unfortunately for me, Naru reflected my embarrassment, flinging an arm across her chest and using the other one to throw me forcefully out of the pond and onto the sandy beach far away. Her face was beet red, a scowl appeared on it, and a vein was throbbing dangerously on her temple, as if threatening to blow at any moment. She hastily shouted out orders for me to do. 

"Hey, this isn't a peep show! Go build us a fire!" 

"Yes, master!" 

I quickly set into a run, trying to place as much distance between me and her, but it wasn't long before I realized just how _stupid_ I was acting. I slowed down and stopped completely before turning around to look at what Naru and the other were doing. I saw Naru giggle helplessly, pat Nyamo on the shoulder, and then lead her off to God-knows-where with Gidget and Tama-chan trailing after them. Watching them leave, I sighed in hopeless exasperation. What the hell was I doing? was I still so afraid of my own girlfriend that I would anything so as not to incur her wrath. My mind swiftly and readily came up with its answer. 

Absolutely, totally, definitely, surely, and undoubtedly... 

...Yes. 

I groaned. God, was I pathetic or what? Sighing again, a little more heavily this time, I continued on my way to find some things to make a fire with, and also some supplies to eat. Luckily for me, there was an abundant source of food and wood in the oasis. Words couldn't describe how happy I was that we had found this place. It was a pure stroke of celestial luck. 

After finishing making the fire and preparing the most of the food, I set down a pot of soup to cool, wiping a hand across my brow after I did. I chuckled at how seemingly "outdoorsy" I was being. "All done," I sighed in relief. 

"Yo, Keitaro." 

I turned around to see what Naru wanted and got one of the biggest, not to mention quite pleasant, surprises of my life. My jaw literally dropped and hit the ground, my eyes widened to about the size of saucers, and I could feel blood begin to leak out of my nostrils. Naru giggled at my astonished expression. "Ta-da! What do you think? The leaf bikinis were my idea of course." 

Oh sweet, merciful, giving God, it was true. Naru and Nyamo were wearing twin leaf-bikini outfits, Nyamo trying to a little bit behind Naru, as expected. My face decided to flash through several different modes before choosing one that my girl-frenzied mind particularly enjoyed: geyser mode. A fountain of blood gushed through my sinuses as I shouted in both pleasure and fright. "Leaf bikinis?! You've got to warn me next time!" I was able to grab a tissue to plug up my nose before continuing. "But you know what? You two really make the primal look work." 

Naru blushed as she clamped her hands in front of her and turned away slightly. "What?" she asked, looking both _highly_ irritated and self-conscious. Don't ask me why, that's just how she looked to me. "I saw the same thing in a magazine once." Her blush grew as she spoke. "You act like you've never see a naked woman before." 

At that, the giant grin I had plastered on my face disappeared in an instant. I gained a blush, too, and Naru realized the implication she had just put forth. She shut up quickly, and there was an awkward moment of silence between us as Nyamo watched on in confusion. I broke the void of sound as I pounded a fist into my palm and laughed. 

"In any case..." I waved behind me to point at the food. "I went and found us some provisions." 

Naru's blush subsided as a smile flashed across her face. "Sweet! I knew you were good for something!" Hey! I was good for a lot of things! She really seemed to love most of the things that I... And I just gave you people a _little_ too much information than necessary, didn't I? Now before I dig myself into an even _deeper_ hole, we should return back to what was going on from before. 

"Alright, stand aside." She rolled up her sleeves (don't know how she actually performed that trick considering she was wearing a bloody bikini) and grinned madly. "I'm going to whip up a feast that you'll never forget!" 

We didn't forget it alright. I never knew it was possible for food to be so sweet, it would rot your teeth with one bite; so spicy it would light your mouth aflame with one drop; so bitter that your tongue would shrink into a crumpled, huddled mass not to be near it; and so sour that you couldn't pass the utensil back through your lips because they were sealed shut...all at the exact same time. 

All of us, the ones that had eaten Naru's radioactive excuse for food that is, immediately had our mouths replaced by a faucet to expunge the satanic meal. Urgh, I never really realized just how bad her cooking could be at times. On one hand, her food could be thought of as a 5-star meal; while on the other, not even a starving rat would eat it. Her face broke out into a look of surprise and shame as she witnessed us push the food back out of our bodies. 

"Urm, I'll take that expression as a bad thing." 

I wiped my mouth and laughed nervously. I wasn't about to tell her how right she was, as I wanted to keep my body intact for a while. Instead, I moved over to her side and gave her shoulder a squeeze before shifting to the supplies. "Naru, no offense, but...let _me_ do the cooking." She pouted and looked away from me at the ground. I sighed. Oh well, I was sure she'd forgive me soon after I finished our meal. Then I began to work on our actual "edible" meal. 

It wasn't long before I finished. With so many different kinds of food I discovered, it was all that hard to create no less that a smorgasbord of cuisine. When I was done, the others crowded around me to see what I had cooked. All of them squealed in delight at the sight of it. Needles to say, I was very flattered by their compliments from just looking at the food. It only got better when they tasted it, their faces turning into what could only be expressed as heavenly thrilled. I busted out into a wide grin as they flattered me over the meal. 

Naru turned to me and smiled, a makeshift cup I had produced to hold the soup gripped between her delicate fingers. "Wow, Keitaro, how did you make something this awesome? You don't even have any real tools or spices...Where'd you learn how to do this, Boy Scouts?" 

"Not really," I laughed. "It's just something I picked up from being shipwrecked one too many times." Naru laughed at this, though I don't believe she realized that I was absolutely _not_ joking about the whole shipwreck thing. 

She took a sip from the cup and swallowed before licking her lips. She looked up at me. "Say, what's in this stuff, anyway?" 

What I said to this question was probably not the smartest thing to do, but I just couldn't resist after seeing that curious expression of hers. Keeping the best straight and serious face that I could, I replied, "Oh, that's charbroiled snake, in homemade soy sauce, with a hint of deep-fried spotted leech." Before I could even finish, Naru had spat the entire mouthful of soup into my face. I sat there, dripping and smelling of salt and spice, as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand in disgust before fixing a deadly stare on me. Then she lunged, grabbing a good clump of my shirt and forcing me upward. Realizing I had gone too far, I tried to show my terrified remorse. "Arggh! I'm kidding, I swear, it was a joke!" 

Naru growled in pure, unadulterated rage. "I give you a compliment, and you play with me?!" I desperately tried to crawl away from my rampaging girlfriend, but she pinned me to the ground and put me into a fairly painful headlock. "You said all that stuff with a straight face!" 

"But you like it!" I cried. "Stop choking me!" She didn't. It wasn't long before my struggles became sluggish, and I simply passed out from lack of oxygen to my brain. 

-------------- 

Later that night, (I had regained consciousness after a couple of hours) all of us were crowded around a fire I had built to help keep us warm against the cold nighttime air. Gidget and Tama-chan had already fallen asleep, Tama-chan curled up on Gidget's back, while Naru, Nyamo, and I conversed with each other. Nyamo seemed to have overcome her strange little fear of Naru and was now talking quite animatedly with her. I smiled as I went back to reading a small book of archaeology I had brought along, absently listening to them. 

"(I'm beat!)" Naru said. Don't know why, _I_ did most of the work. Course I didn't say this as I knew the result wouldn't be pleasant. "(It's not like we should be relaxing at a time like this, but still...it's sooo nice here.)" 

"(It is nice,)" Nyamo responded. I looked back up to see her smiling at Naru. "(Grandpa said that...)" Her smile instantly degenerated into a melancholy frown, and her sentence trailed off to nothing. I sighed internally as I knew as to why just mentioning her grandfather brought such sadness to her. 

Naru noticed this, too. Her face took on a concerned look, and her voice turned tender as she moved over a wrapped an arm around Nyamo's shoulder. "(What's wrong, Nyamo?)" 

She shook her head. "(Nothing,)" she replied sadly. 

"(Nyamo...)" She looked up at me, and I smiled and nodded. "(it's okay, you can tell her. Naru's really good when it comes to things like this. Better than anything I could ever do.)" She gazed at me, her eyes silently asking if I was sure. I kept the same smile, my eyes softening all the while. "(Go ahead.)" 

Nyamo hesitated for a second before nodding her head back at me. She then turned to Naru and retold the same story as she did to me. As the story progressed, Naru's eyes became more and more watery, and her face became softer and kinder. By the time Nyamo finished, Naru was in absolute tears. When the tale ended, she cried silently for a minute before wrapping her other arm around Nyamo and pulling her into a bear hug. 

"(Aww, what a beautiful and bittersweet tale!)" she said emotionally. Nyamo flailed helplessly in her arms as she continued to squeeze tighter. I could see the desired effect had occurred, even if it were from the wrong action, as Nyamo's sad expression had converted to an embarrassed one instead. Naru didn't notice this as she gushed. "(You poor, poor, girl! You've gone through so much!)" Jeez, Naru could be a real drama queen sometimes. I stopped thinking along those trails of thoughts, however, as Naru turned towards me. Sometimes I really wonder if that woman knows what I'm thinking...If she did, she didn't show it because instead of berating me, she blubbered out, "Dang it, Kei! You've got to help her with her dream! You'll do the excavation with her, right?!" 

I sweatdropped at her puppy-dog eyes, and also at the fact that Nyamo seemed to be going limp in her embrace. I tried to act quickly. "I already am, Naru, but you need to let go of her first!" She looked to see Nyamo's face turning into a lovely shade of purple. In an instant, she yelped and dropped Nyamo to the ground, who swiftly began to take in large gulps of air. Naru smiled sheepishly. I sighed. 

"You've gotta understand, Naru. Not all people have my kind of resilience, so you can't react to them like you do to me." The young tanned girl who was sprawled onto the ground and gasping was proof enough. 

"Sorry," she murmured. She bent down and placed a hand on Nyamo's head. "(You okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?)" 

Nyamo coughed a little in response before shaking her head. "(No, you...didn't hurt me. Just...couldn't breath!)" She let out a short laugh. "(You are a real tight hugger, Naru.)" 

"(Yep,)" I agreed, grinning. "(She sure is.)" 

Naru glared at me, and my face cracked when I realized my mistake. Oh no, she was going to kill me. 

I wasn't too far off either. 

Naru calmly stood up, still keeping the same furious mask on, walked over to me, bent down, and smacked me as hard as she could in the back of my head. My face shot forward into the ground, and I ended up getting a mouthful of sand. "You idiot," she growled. "You don't say things like that to a little girl." 

I spat out what sand I had left in my mouth and gazed hurtfully at her. "Fine, but you didn't have to hit me. That was unnecessary. Besides, what I said wasn't all that wrong. Lots of couples hug each other. What do want her to think, that she can't have any physical contact with the one she loves?" 

Okay, now I was just overreacting. But I couldn't help it. Every time Naru insulted me, every time she denied having feelings for me, every time she seemed ashamed of being with me, it felt like a little part of my heart broke. I know, I know..._I_ look like the drama queen (or rather king) now, but that was just the way I was. I was an emotional softie...and actually still am. 

After that rather...sappy speech, I really didn't know what to do. Sure, it was subtle as hell, but Naru was a smart girl; I was sure she would figure it out. Apparently I was right, as her face softened and her eyes gained loving warmth. She smiled very softly before giving a capricious grin and bumping me playfully on the shoulder. I looked at her in befuddled confusion. 

She winked. "Aww, does that mean _you_ want to give Nyamo a hug, Keitaro? Are you falling in love with her now?" My mouth dropped in an incredibly exasperated gape. Naru giggled and moved over to Nyamo, motioning to her much like those showgirls do on a game program. "She's right here, Keitaro, ready for you to confess your love for her and act on it." 

A giant sweatdrop appeared on my temple. Was she crazy? Did her brains go off to la-la land? Or was she just really trying to screw with my mind? Whatever the reason was, my reaction was not all that hard to guess. 

"Naru, what the hell are you implying?! Did you hit your head or something?!" 

To my great surprise, she burst out laughing. Don't know _why_ I was surprised. After all the time I lived in Hinata House, I should have been used to crap like that happening. Jeez, the shit I went through every day of my life...In any case, Naru was laughing her lungs out as she, once again, bumped me with her elbow. 

"We'll have to chain you up!" 

Trying to distract her attention, I turned to Nyamo, who was looking at us in amusement, her head tilted at the slightest angle. Changing to English, I suggested, "(Um, it's late, so...let's turn in, shall we, Nyamo?)" However, this only managed to fuel her personality that was more suited to Kitsune than it was to Naru. 

She grabbed Nyamo by the shoulders and spun the young girl behind her. Nyamo blindly did as Naru silently ordered her to, that same innocent, confused expression on her small tanned face. Naru then stared at me teasingly. "You have a thing for little girls, don't you?" I didn't know how to answer this question and just stood up slowly, staying silent and stupefied at the same time. Naru stuck her tongue out at me playfully before retracting it and rushing forward, pushing me backwards. "Get over there, you perv!" 

She then leaned over and kissed my cheek. "And I'll see you later." 

She abruptly turned around, leaving me shocked at her actions. Boy, talk about your mood swings. First she was happy then sad to the corniest degree then angry like she used to be around me before we got together (and sometimes still is) then impossibly and unimaginably ecstatic again, and then finally loving yet also seductive. I watched in dumb stillness as Naru led Nyamo over to where the supplies were and then headed away from the two. I decided it was better to wait a little while to make sure that everything had calmed down before going back. 

When I did, I saw Naru sitting next to a curled up Nyamo. Naru giggled as she placed a blanket atop her. I smiled at the touching scene. In my opinion, Naru would make one of the finest mothers out there. Even though I usually saw the angry side of her, there was also a side of hers that was so kind, gentle, caring, and loving, she could become a mother very easily and do exceedingly well at it to boot. At that moment, I wondered if the two of _us_ would ever have children. I smiled again. I think I'd like that. I think I'd like that very much. 

Walking up to her, I whispered, "Is she asleep yet?" It was a bit redundant, as Nyamo's still body and peaceful breathings was all the evidence I needed. Still, I wanted to say something so that I wouldn't create an unbreakable awkward silence between Naru and I. 

She turned her face to me and smiled. "Yep, sound asleep. She conked right out." I offered my hand my hand to help her up, which she gladly took. I pulled her up to stand, but she tripped slightly and ended up falling against my chest. My hands went up to grip her shoulders as hers went against me. Our eyes met for a moment that seemed like an eternity. Swiftly after, Naru broke it as she leaned forward, tucking her head underneath my chin, and sighed. I wrapped my arms around her, tilting my head so that my cheek could rest on her hair, sighing back, too. 

We both spoke nothing until Naru mumbled something into my chest. I leaned back slightly. She responded by leaning back also, a disappointed look on her face. I raised an eyebrow to signal that I had not heard her previous statement. Naru looked at me confused until recognition dawned on her face. "I'm sorry." She grinned sheepishly. "Guess I overreacted, huh?" 

"Yeah, guess you did." 

A scowl flashed across her face before it settled into a _very_ evil grin. I began to become quite nervous at her devious expression, anticipating what was one of her most likely dealings with me. It came soon enough. Increasing her hold on my back, she squeezed me tightly to almost an almost lethal degree. I could literally feel my spine and ribs begin to crack under the tremendous pressure of her grip. 

I let out a small whimper escape from my lips, showing that I had had enough. Naru loosened her grasp one me just enough so that I could regain my breath. The first gasps of air that I released were words of apology. "I'm...sorry..." I barely managed to squeak out. 

She lost the sadistic grin, instead replacing it with a happy smile. "Good boy." She released me from her embrace, allowing me to try and regain some of the feelings I had lost in my body. She giggled as she watched me rub my arms against each other. I didn't know what was so funny. Pins and needles are _not_ a pleasant experience...I communicated as much through my small frown and slanted eyes. Naru shrugged. "What? If I didn't keep you in place, who else would?" 

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Let's see...who else would kick the crap out of me for a single mistake? That would be...Motoko, Kitsune, Su, Sarah, not to mention Haruka. Oh yeah, that's right; nearly every single female at Hinata House, excluding Shinobu and Mutsumi. Hell! I bet after a while the other girls would rub off on Shinobu and _she_ would start beating the shit out of me! 

...Eh, I'm just being paranoid again. _Got_ to stop doing that. In any case, I waved my hand absently at her. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just _sooo_ dangerous, aren't I?" Naru giggled again. I sighed before taking her hand. "C'mon," I said, motioning toward the lake. "Let's go talk." 

She agreed all too easily, and the two of us made our way over to the edge of the lake before settling down. Naru lied on her back, using her forearms as a pillow for her head. I opted to sit up, planting my hands behind me to keep balanced. 

I looked up at the inky black sky. It looked so much different than back in Japan. Back home, you rarely ever saw the stars out at night because of all the lights of the city. But here, with no civilization and where only nature ruled, you could see each and every pinpoint of light that were scattered across the dark blanket that night had spread across the world. Stars weren't the only celestial objects that I could see. The moon, in its crescent from, rose slowly into the sky. It seemed so...so much bigger here, like God had chosen this one spot to be closer to its wondrous light. 

Silence permeated the air all around us, only to be broken every once in a while by the call of a nighttime animal, the rushing of a breeze through the tropical trees' leaves, or a soft sigh of contentment from either Naru or I. It was amazing there could even be silence like this; quiet yet...not overbearing with the feeling of nothingness. It wasn't a void that robbed your senses of all stimulus. It was comforting, tender, full of...a devotion to tranquility and peacefulness. 

The smells were just as intriguing. The citrusy hint of fruit that I had collected and also the ones still on the trees wafted their scent across the tropical air. Cool, crisp water, absolutely contrasting the dry, arid characteristics of the desert also came to my sense. But the last one was the most interesting. The light musky smell of sweat, mixed alongside a spicy type of perfume, drifted into my nostrils. Where was it coming from...? 

Turning my head, I realized that the only source the scent could have stemmed from was the person lying next to me. Indeed, it was Naru that I had smelled, but not in a bad way, no, not in a bad way at all. Most people would find the smell of sweat to be a turnoff, but combined with Naru's perfume, it was a perfect mix. Her natural scent was enhanced to a dizzying degree, making her seem all the most attractive for it. 

But beyond the way she smelled, her physical appearance was also quite spellbinding. Her eyes were closed at the moment, her pale cheeks containing the very beginning of a blush, and her mouth's corners were turned up the tiniest bit in a relaxed smile. The moonlight illuminated her in its bathing shine. Looking at her, you would gain an idea of pure innocence. Heh, if only you knew the truth...But honestly, she looked so beautiful; so very beautiful indeed. 

My gaze moved down to the hand she had released from its position as her pillow, now lazily lying by her side. I slowly moved a hand, trying to compensate for the sudden change of balance, and laid it gently on top of hers. She opened an eye and glanced up at me, her smile growing bigger as she did. She then turned her hand upside-down so that she could grip at my fingers. Her smile grew wider as she gave my hand a slight tug, but as I wasn't properly holding myself up as it was, the added force caused me to fall onto my side right next to her. 

Naru took the opportunity to quickly snuggle up to me. Her arms circled around my neck to pull me closer as she trapped one of my legs between the two of hers. I felt her press her body up against mine and blushed at the fact that a few pieces of tropical flora were the only things stopping her from being totally naked. This and _only_ this revelry was the one thing stopping me from springing up and run away, screaming in complete terror for my life. 

But it seemed like I wasn't going to lose a limb or any of my bodily functions when Naru leaned up and gave me a lingering kiss on my lips before nuzzling her face into my chest. She sighed happily and turned her cheek to rest on me as the two of us looked out at the lake together. "So soft..." she murmured. "Much better than arms, wouldn't you say so?" 

"I wouldn't know," I replied. A thought came to mind. Well, she seemed a lot more comfortable with such things around me lately, so maybe her reaction wouldn't be too bad. An impish grin rose to my face and I leaned forward to touch noses with her. "I've never really used a woman's breasts as pillows before." I rubbed her nose with my own. She giggled at my affectionate actions and followed en suite. I barely whispered my next question. "Would you be so kind as to be my first?" 

She broke off from and looked up at me, her eyes full of surprised amusement. I gazed back, my eyes silently pleading. Naru let out a small smile before going back to nuzzle with me. "Maybe..." she cooed. "If you're good." 

"I'm being good now..." 

She giggled as I lowered my face, nuzzling the soft skin of her throat. Her smell of strawberries invaded my senses, making my brain want to switch from my sense of smell to my sense of taste to further explore the perfection of my girlfriend's form. My lips parted slightly, and I moved them to brush just barely against her pulse. She gave a miniscule gasp, and I felt the muscles of her throat contract, causing her flesh to press a little bit more on my lips. Taking this as a subtle hint of approval, my lips, almost of their own volition, added their own pressure to her skin. For just a small moment, they opened a little more, allowing my tongue to dart out and fondly touch her skin, savoring her exquisite taste. 

Just as quickly as it had happened, it stopped, and I leaned back up to gaze upon the love of my life's face. The beginning blush had spread across her face and also her upper chest considerably, giving her skin a healthy, rosy color. Her breathing had quickened, ever so slightly, and her eyes were overflowing with passion and warmth. Well, it seemed she had enjoyed that. Good; I liked it when my Naru was happy. 

Noticing that a patch of her flowing hair had fallen across her face during our brief lovers' exchange, I raised my hand and tucked it behind her ear. But I didn't remove my hand from her face. Instead, I brought the back of my fingers to slowly, not mention what would be considered quite sensually, caress her face with them. Naru shuddered and closed her eyes, surrendering herself to my tender touch. 

My fingers traced their way from her ear down along her jawbone. As I did, I decided to memorize ever detail, every _nuance_ of her face, so that, somehow, I could understand her and her very soul better. By the time I made my way to her chin, I saw that her jaw was very strong. I figured as much because whenever she pouted, her jaw almost managed to jut itself out, thereby enforcing the fact that she was not pleased. 

Once I reached her chin, I changed direction and headed upward. I made sure to avoid her lips as I knew that if I touched them something would happen, and I still wanted to explore her face before it did. Making contact with her cheek, I found out that it was very warm from her blush. I smiled before giving it a slow, luxurious stroke. Naru responded by giving a long, lengthy sigh. My smile grew as my fingers brushed their way to her forehead. Her cheekbones were high and firm, the flesh on and below them so very soft. 

I finally came to her forehead. I noticed the hint of a furrowed brow, probably from all of the scowls and frowns she ever made towards me or anyone else. I hoped that this trend didn't continue. It was a surefire plan for premature wrinkles. I moved aside some bangs of hair that collected there, and Naru giggled at the ticklish feeling I must have produced from doing it. 

I decided then and there to end my exploration of Naru's face. Starting at the very middle of her forehead, I trailed them down the short distance of dainty nose's bridge. Hesitating at the tip for a moment, I took the plunge and traced the contours of her lips. They were so amazingly soft and gentle. Now even though I'd felt them against mine so many times before, I had never quite realized just _how_ perfect they were. 

Sensing that I had finished my search, Naru opened her eyes and looked at me innocently. I smiled as I tenderly began to flick her bottom lip. She trembled from my actions before raising her hands to hold mine. To my surprise, she grabbed my thumb and slipped it _in between_ her lips. Then she slowly suckled on it, looking at me coyly the entire time. 

My heart melted at this show of flirtation. I chose to go one step farther. Not too much, but just enough to prove my affections. I popped my finger out of Naru's mouth, and she appeared a little disappointed, but it quickly disappeared when I cradled both sides of her face in my hands and rolled us over so that I was hovering above her. Her blush grew in leaps and bounds, and I doubted if my face wasn't as red as a cherry by then either. 

As I lowered my face, Naru closed her eyes and tipped her face towards me, her lips slightly pursed. But instead of kissing here where she expected, I kissed her forehead. Hardly touching her skin, I made a trail of light, feathery pecks all over her face. Naru switched from giggling as I made my way around her face to soft mewling as I wouldn't stop in one place long enough to give her a more permanent type of pleasure. 

She whimpered as I once again managed to avoid pressing my lips to hers. "Keitarooo..." Her tone was plaintive and even the tiniest bit...begging? "Don't tease me...I told you...I hate being teased..." 

But I wanted to tease her, wanted to show and prove to her the simple joys and pleasures of playful, sexual flirtation. But after I heard Naru whimper again, I realized that I was only torturing her, and that was something I _never_ wanted to do to her. I leaned up from her and smiled apologetically. She stuck her bottom lip out and pouted. I chuckled mirthfully and her pout changed to a shy smile. She batted her eyelashes, and my mirth only grew at this silent exchange. I suddenly moved and our lips connected in a sweet embrace. 

Naru allowed a low, happy moan to escape from her lips, and I felt the hot, sweet rush of air enter my mouth. I enjoyed her taste so much; she was like a delectable to me. The kisses were nowhere near passionate; only sweet short, chaste. But each one was like the first one we (purposely) shared together. They all showed the love we held for each other, and that was better than the deepest and most passionate of kisses that we would ever share. 

Her arms went around my neck to pull me closer to her, effectively pushing herself up against me. The sounds she made only coaxed me to kiss her more lovingly. She mewled when I caught her lower lip and nibbled on it, the soft flesh yielding between my teeth. I could literally feel her melt in my arms. 

I loved this side of Naru. Shy and submissive, she let me do whatever I wanted to her. I never did, of course; to me, she was always a person, never an object. But still, the idea that she trusted me so much touched me to the core of my soul. However, this side of her was swiftly banished only to be replaced by yet another side of her that I loved. 

Another noise erupted from Naru's throat, but instead of it being a meek, obedient one, a feral growl emanated from her. Before I even realized what had happened, I found myself on my back with a frisky Naru lying on top of me. She returned my earlier favor of nibbling her lip when she managed to take them out of mine and began to suckle on my upper lip instead. She grabbed my hands that were lying useless to the side and stretched them along the length of both our bodies, taking away any leverage that could of occurred. 

Since that happened, the full weight of her was completely on me. The warm, soft force of her breasts rubbed contentedly against me. By now, (well, more like a while ago) a certain member of mine had risen to attention and when Naru took away any space between us, it eagerly pressed itself next to her inner thigh. Naru let out a tiny squeal of surprise and shot up, detaching her lips from mine. I wondered why her reaction had been so dramatic, but considering she was only wearing a leaf, she _would_ feel my appendage a lot easier. 

That stopped, in its tracks, the other side of Naru that I loved. Aggressive and assertive, she knew what she wanted and did not hesitate in taking it. I loved it when she took the initiative like this. I've never quite understood why the male had to be dominate; having Naru on top of me pleased me to no end. I was just happy that she hadn't changed too much after we got together. After all, her hotheadedness was what made her unique, and I adored her for that. 

Now, both of us were blushing furiously from the emergence of my "little friend." Naru had shifted up my body so that she was sitting on my stomach, as far away from my...you get the point, as possible without making me uncomfortable. She had gotten so much more considerate recently. Her hands were planted on my chest as mine gripped her hips. 

We both remained silent until I managed to speak. "Well...!" I breathed out. "That was...unexpected..." 

Naru gulped and nodded her head. "Urm...yeah. Guess so..." 

"So you're not..." 

"Angry at the fact that I get you excited?" She leaned down and grinned slyly. "I'd be more disappointed if you _didn't_. Besides..." She took my hand and put her to her...I gasped at her forwardness, and also at the fact that her part was...erect...also. "I feel the same way, too." 

"So I'm not in trouble?" 

"Not in the tiniest bit." 

I sighed in relief, and Naru laughed gaily before she twisted around so that her back was facing me and fell backwards onto my chest. She rested her head on my shoulder and took my arms before wrapping them around her like a blanket, murmuring something about keeping her warm and me being a silly boy. I think that that was going to be one of my new pet names other than the traditional one of "Kei." She sighed happily as she snuggled further into me. 

I smiled at the sound. It was so peaceful, so content. My thoughts switched from the girl lying on me to the starry canopy above us. It was totally dark now, the only light emanating from the moon that was already high in the sky. Looking back, that was probably one of the most perfect moments of my life. Nothing else really mattered to me. All the problems, the pain, the obstacles they were all blown away like dust in the wind. Tokyo U and the idea of never getting didn't bother me. So what if I didn't? It's not like it was the end of the world. I was doing a job I enjoyed, making fun, interesting new friends, and was currently with the person that I loved with all my heart. 

That's when it hit me. For a spilt-second, the rays of enlightenment shined upon my mind. Material items like a college degree or money or even a great job didn't truly count in this life. All I really needed to be happy was myself, something I enjoyed doing...and Naru. That's all that was needed. That's all I would ever need, and for that I was happy. 

And then it was gone, but a lingering sense of self-esteem stayed in its wake. The corners of my mouth twitched up and my eyes closed as I tightened my hold on Naru. I heard her whisper my name quietly and my smile grew as I whispered her name back at her. She giggled and cooed softly into my ear. I laughed at the babyish, loving words she spoke and murmured back. She giggled again and kissed my ear, settling back into me afterwards. I'm not going to bother explaining what we talked about as it's too irrelevant and personal to say. But let's just say that we both enjoyed the cute conversation...very much. 

"It's so pretty." 

"Ain't it though? It's weird to think that only a few weeks ago, our lives revolved studying for our exams. And now we're here..." My thumb ran little circles around her navel. She laughed and forced my hand away, intertwining her fingers with mine. As she nuzzled her nose against my cheek, I continued. "Together..." 

Naru stopped nuzzling my cheek and slunk down to rest her chin in the crook of my neck. I felt her frown and could sense the sadness coming from her. What was wrong...? Naru sighed before cuddling closer, searching for body warmth as though she were cold. "Yeah," she muttered sadly. "Ironic how fate brought us all here...But, I still need to find a way to get back to Japan." 

I was confused by her sudden change in demeanor. First she was all happy and cuddly, and now she seemed so depressed. What could I do? Naru gasped as I sat up suddenly, her almost falling off from my unanticipated movement if it weren't for my arms around her. Her gasp changed into a small sigh when I put my hand to her cheek and pecked her on the lips. Soon after, I planted my forehead on hers and stared her right in the eyes. 

"Don't worry. Every thing'll work out. I'll figure something out. I promise." 

"I hope so..." 

"Hey." I tilted her head up from its downtrodden position and planted my lips on her temple. "I promise." Naru smiled and mouthed the words "thank you," as if someone were listening in on us. I don't know why and I'm not even going to bother trying. I gave her one last squeeze before whispering, "C'mon, let's get back to camp. It's gonna get cold soon." 

She nodded and I stood the both of us up before we made our way back to the camp, holding each other's hand. When we got to the supplies, I let go of her and bent down to search through one of the bags to find the extra blankets. Finding them, I stopped, my eyes widening in surprise. There was only..._one_ left? No...that couldn't be true. I scrambled through the remaining items in the sack but could find no other blankets. But I thought... 

I groaned before smacking myself lightly on the forehead. That was right, Seta had most of the supplies back in the van with him while Gidget held the reserve ones. Oh well, looked like it was going to be a chilly night for me... 

I stood up with the blanket in my hands and turned to Naru. "Here you go," I smiled as I handed it to her. 

Naru smiled back at me in gratitude and took the blanket before flinging it over shoulders like a cloak. When she saw me just standing there with no covering of my own, her eyes quirked and a small frown appeared. "Aren't you going to get one for yourself?" 

I shrugged. "There aren't anyones left." I leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Good night, Naru." Then I turned around to allow her to get more comfortable and go to sleep. Sometimes I really was too nice for my own good. Or maybe it was the fact that I didn't feel like bathing in a pool of my own blood for the night...Most likely both. 

"Kei?" I stopped at the concerned tone in her voice and looked over my shoulder at her. She fidgeted with the ends of the blanket that were in her hands. "You said it was going to get cold. Are...are you gonna be okay?" 

I chuckled at her question, and she looked at me strangely until I trailed off. I scratched my nose sheepishly and grinned. "No, it's okay. I'm used to the cold." I didn't want to tell her that I lived on a deserted island for four days with only the clothes on my back to sustain my existence. She might have worried herself to death! 

...Nah, that wasn't Naru's style. She wasn't one much for all that getting the fritters over someone. Eh, what are ya gonna do? 

I smiled again and walked off, waving behind me to Naru, signaling that I was going to be alright. I didn't hear her come after me, so I glanced to see if she had gone to sleep yet. She was over by Nyamo, curled up, but I could tell she wasn't asleep because she kept on moving around. Then again, Naru was a really restless sleeper. I remember back on our trip in Kyoto when we had to share a room. She was moving all around, kicking her futon apart and nearly shrugging out of her yukata...Not a bad view, but totally wrong on the moral scale. 

I found a nice spot with enough distance to give the girls their privacy, but close enough so that I could be there in a moment if something happened. I grunted as I sat on the ground, my joints still a little bit sore from out trek across the desert. Though they did feel a lot better than when we went through that hellhole. I sighed, wrapping my arms around me and rubbing my arms to keep warm. 

It was cold. I couldn't deny it; it was very, _very_ cold. 

The wind had picked up and was making the cool night even chillier. I was going to be unhappy that I didn't keep the blanket for myself, but knowing that Naru was happy was good enough for me. Besides, I've been in worse weather. Once I ran away from home in the middle of a snowstorm when I was in middle school (can't remember the reason.) I only got about a block before hiding in an alleyway. My parents found me the next morning, cold and shivering but okay. 

I laughed softly at the memory of one of my first hints at immortality. Most people would get a horrible fever or some other symptom of a disease if they stayed out in the freezing cold in a place where germs and vermin reigned supreme. But me? All I got was a slight head cold with runny nose and nothing else for less than a day. Disease was not a big thing for me; I rarely ever got sick. Maybe once or twice a _year_ but that was nearly the absolute maximum. 

I sighed again as I leaned forward, my head drooping and my arms wrapped tightly around my bunched up legs to conserve body heat. Even though it was cold and not quite pleasing for sleeping, I quickly found myself nodding off. 

However, my eyes instantly snapped open when a warm body draped itself on my back, wrapping a blanket around the two of us. The same person buried their face into the crook of my neck, their hair spreading around and falling in front of me. 

I fingered the silken, auburn strands. "I thought you were asleep." 

"Couldn't," she murmured back. I sighed before falling back, my head resting on two billowy objects that were definitely _not_ real pillows. My beautiful redhead giggled as she stroked the bangs out of my eyes, shifting so that she could accommodate my placement. She sat on her knees and pulled me up, my head perfectly nestled in her bosom. She giggled again when I took one of her hands caressing my face and put her wrists to my lips. 

"Looks like you got your wish." 

I glanced up ate her inquisitively for a moment before relaxing back into her touch. "You get to use my breasts as a pillow." 

I grinned and turned my head slightly to rub my cheek against the side of one of her breasts. She blushed, gave a small "eep!", and whacked me lightly upside the head. I chuckled at her reaction and miffed expression slowly melted into a loving smile. I grinned again before sitting up suddenly. She looked disappointed until I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto me, the two of us falling backwards. 

Naru gave a gasp when she landed on top of me and sat up quickly. "What was that for?!" she asked tersely. 

I gave her a tiny smirk as I laid my hands on her sides. Running them up her, I ended right under her armpits and pulled her down. She made no resistance and was soon lying full on top of me like she had been only a half-hour earlier. Her head rested on my chest as I kept one arm curled loosely around her waist while I used the other one to idly run my fingers through her hair. 

"You," I said suddenly. Naru looked up at me questioningly. 

"I did it because even though using you chest as a pillow was nice, and I mean _very_ nice..." I emphasized my point by kissing her gently on the nose and tightening my hold on her. "I'd rather have you be comfortable by using _me_ as a head rest." 

Naru lifted her head. She gazed at me incredulously, her eyes full of awe and warmth. Had I said something to...? I immediately got an answer to my unsaid question as she lunged forward and engaged me in a powerful liplock. I was surprised at first from her actions, but quickly gave in to her. When we finally broke off, I found my face being covered in minute kisses as Naru hurriedly spoke through each one. "You're too good for me..." 

I remained silent, digesting what had occurred within the past few minutes. First, Naru had appeared out of nowhere, gathering me into a tender embrace and allowing me to use her usual out-of-bound areas as pillows. Now she was saying I was too good for her and being absolutely sappy. My mind dinged, telling me it understood. It hit me then. She thought I was too good for her? That wasn't true at all, she was too good for _me_. Her beauty, her brains, her heart...all of her for this waste of space that was me. How could she _ever_ think she wasn't good enough for me? 

I stopped Naru's fond rampage on my face by catching her face between my hands. She whimpered as I kissed her softly before making her tuck her head into my throat. I sighed, rubbing her lower back low enough so that she was getting pleasure out of it but not so low as that my touches would seem lecherous in nature. Naru began to melt in my grasp, a soft, feline quality in her voice as she breathed slowly and steadily. 

After we got into the most relaxed position possible, I went on with our conversation. "Isn't that my line, Naru? Saying that I'm not worthy of you?" 

She shook her head leisurely, and her hair tickled my skin when it moved across my throat. I found it very hard not to laugh as it would ruin the peaceful moment we were in. 

"No..." she whispered quietly, so quietly that I could hardly hear her. "It's true. You're so good to me, Keitaro. You're sweet, giving, completely unselfish. You help all of us out at Hinata House, never really complaining, never denying any of the requests we send your way, no matter how ludicrous they sound. Even when we hit you or yell at you or do something else that you don't deserve, you never retaliate. You just take it and come back with an apology and a smile." 

My mouth began to open, but my mind caught my tongue and flung it back into the recesses of its cage before it could force me to speak. I wanted to say something, anything, to show that I did find her or any of the others at fault, but a part of my mind told me to just shut up and listen to her. Naru needed to talk, and there was no way I would interrupt her for my own selfish desires. This all happened in the timeframe of less than a second, and Naru went on, oblivious to the small battle that had been waged inside of me. 

"You're so kind, so gentle, so loving. Whenever you're with me, you're both shy and brave. A paradox for most but it suits you, to tell the truth. When we kiss, you're warm and inviting, tender and soft. You're never overbearing but I love it when you take control of our times together and kiss me with such passion that I can't help but never want to stop. 

"I know I've been a total bitch..." I squeezed her tighter, making my massage on her lower back a little firmer, daring to go past the boundaries and moving to her upper legs. She reacted just like I wanted, moaning lightly and increasing the grip she had on my shirt. However, it didn't last long when she grabbed my hands and forced them away. "Please don't. I need to tell you this, and what you're doing is only making it harder." I blinked at her tone and nodded. She smiled ruefully and placed her head back on my chest. 

"I've been so horrible to you. I've hit you, yelled at you, belittled you for the stupidest reasons, mocked your dreams for Tokyo U..." Her voice became ragged, like she had been running for an entire day and was utterly parched. "I'm possessive, emotionally weak, too hotheaded, conclude things with no proof whatsoever..." Her body trembled like a leaf and I felt moisture collect on my flesh; so cold, so sad. She was crying. Naru, the strongest person that I knew, was crying like a little child. 

"I'm selfish," she sobbed. "Oh, god, I'm selfish. I can only think of myself, and how things are going to affect me. I can only wallow in my own self-pity, ignoring others who are off far worse than I could ever be." Her trembling became shaking, her small tears rivulets of water. "I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry. You're so nice to me and I've been nothing but mean to you for so long. God, I'm so-mmph!" 

I couldn't take it anymore; the loathing, the self-deprecation...This was _not_ my vibrant, adoring Naru. This was me, the me I had always been, the me who blamed himself for everything and was constantly treating himself as though he was a _fucking martyr! _I hated it when _I_ acted like that, so imagine the pain I felt when someone I loved more than anything in this world acted like I had. 

I swept her up and captured her lips in a powerful lock. I plunged my tongue into her mouth, coaxing her own to come out and play. She moaned, losing herself in my embrace. I crushed her body to mine, ignoring the touch of her smooth skin and focusing all of my attention on her lips and tongue. Her tongue was pebbly and soft, rubbing playfully against mine as she tried to force me back into my own mouth. But I wouldn't let her; I wanted _my_ Naru back, the Naru who would get angry over the stupidest causes and would blush prettily if I said something that she enjoyed. 

We stayed like that for a long time until I was satisfied that my Naru was back. I broke off from her, the passion of our kiss represented by a thin string of saliva that connected our lips. I wiped the remains of it off of her mouth with my thumb before caressing her face. 

"Don't you ever think that, you hear me?" I chided her sternly. "You might've been all those things, but I never gave you the chance to act or believe otherwise. I'm not the easiest person to be with, I know. But I'm so damn grateful that you're still willing to stay with me...no matter how much of an idiot I can be." 

A few tears ran down her cheeks. Naru's lips trembled before she nodded slowly and fell back onto me, her mouth right next to my ear. 

"Thank you...Thank you so much..." 

Those words spoke pages for me, and I smiled before replying. "You gonna be able to go back to sleep now? 

"Uh-huh. But only if I'm here...with you." 

"That's good." 

And then her words registered in my mind. She wanted...she wanted to sleep with me?! Sleep...with _me?!_ Sure, it wasn't as far as sex, not even close, but these sorts of things often led to it. Not that I minded but...No! Must think pure thoughts! Must think pure thoughts! I shot up, Naru tumbling off of me as I did. 

"You want to what?!" 

"Shut up, you idiot!" Right after she said it, a horribly guilty look overtook her face. She stared down at her lap, a depressed woman as her image. I immediately regretted my outburst and leaned forward to hold her. She flinched away at my touch, but I didn't give up, wrapping my arms around her shoulders, her head resting on my shoulder when I did. 

"You want to sleep with me?" She hesitated for a second before nodding her head slowly. "But why? I mean, not to be rude, but the last time we slept together was by accident alone. This'll be the first we actually mean to, and I thought you didn't like to show off affection like this." 

"I'm afraid." 

My eyes widened at the sincerity in her words. She...she was afraid? But why? For as long as I had known her, I had never seen Naru truly afraid of anything in particular. Sure, she was afraid of things like the demons and ghosts our "friends" portrayed from our trip to the beach but heck, so was nearly every other person on the planet. 

...Still can't believe those guys pulled a trick on us like that. All I got was a rather large hole in my head from Naru when I accidentally groped her while we were grasping at each other in fright. Nice cause, wrong result. But now that I think about, it was actually a little sign to what she and I felt for each other. After all, you don't grab a person you don't like in a bear hug to protect you from something. 

"Keitaro?" 

I realized that I had zoned out for a moment and Naru was looking t me in concern. My eyes went back to normal and I smiled before nodding. "I'm okay." She sighed in relief but her face instantly reverted back to its melancholy state. "Come here." She looked up to see my welcoming arms and faltered slightly before crawling into my lap and turning around so that her back was to my chest. I hooked my chin onto her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her protectively. "Now, tell me why you're afraid." 

Naru began to tremble again, and I felt her jaw move to open but then close just as quickly. This happened a few times until I gave her jaw an encouraging peck. Her trembling shrank a little and she was finally able to talk, even if it was shakily at best. 

"I...I don't want to be alone." 

She didn't want to be alone? But she wasn't alone; she had me and everyone else back at Hinata House to keep company with. Unfortunately, her next statement proved that her fear wasn't as empty as I first thought. 

"My...my mother died...when I was very...very young." I was surprised to hear this. Having both of my parents, I never quite thought about how lost I would be if one of them were suddenly gone. But yeah, I guess that would make you feel like you were all alone. 

"And then my father re-married when I was in middle school. His new wife was nice to me, but...she could never replace the role of my mom, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe I never really gave her a chance, I honestly don't know. But after a while, she gave up trying to be my friend and focused back on my father and trying to have kids of her own." 

The words came tumbling out of her mouth, faster and faster, as if there was no end to the jumble of words falling from her lips. "Eventually my father became closer to my step-mother, and farther and farther away from me. That's why I moved to Hinata House, because my home was no longer a home for me. It was now nothing more than a place where I was unwanted or just ignored. So I had to leave, my family...were only strangers to me now. 

"And then Seta left and I was so sad. He was the first person that I thought I ever loved." 

At this, my arms involuntarily tightened possessively around her. I couldn't help it. Hearing that Naru might have loved her former tutor tore a hole in me. I didn't want her to love anyone else, only me! But this small, selfish part of my mind was swiftly squished by the major part saying that it wasn't right to try and control Naru like that. She could love whoever she wanted, and I should feel honored that she'd pick me. 

"But it turned out that I wasn't in love with him; only a silly, high-school girl's crush." 

I shook my head. "No, that's not true. Look at me, I waited fifteen years for some stupid, childhood promise while the love of my life was right next to me all along." 

"It's not stupid. After all, we found each other, right?" 

"Yeah...but I failed to keep my promise of getting into Tokyo U with you, though..." 

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be cheering me up?" 

I smiled. "Yeah, you're right." I nuzzled her throat, receiving a giggle for my efforts. It appeared that things were getting back to normal. I lifted a hand from around her to tilt her head to face me. "But you're not alone, Naru. You've got me. Not to mention Kitsune, Mutsumi, Shinobu, Su, Motoko, Haruka, and even Sarah. They all care for you, and want you to be happy and with them." 

But for how long?" she sniffled as she wiped a finger to rid her eyes of their threatening-to-fall tears. "How long until they leave me, too? They can't all stay around forever." Her head sunk, her long, flowing hair hiding her face from view. "And what about you? You ran away from us, from _me_, at the first signs of trouble! Do you know how torn up I felt when you left?!" 

"I'm sorry..." I leaned back then forward again, resting my head on the small of Naru's back. I kissed the back of her neck fondly as a kind of apology. "I was scared that you wouldn't love me anymore when you found out I had failed you." 

"Idiot." I wasn't hurt, as her voice held none of the usual spite and anger for the word. Rather, it was more of an affectionate and playful gesture. Naru shifted around in my lap and ended up facing me. She hooked her wrists behind my neck and brought her face up to within an inch of mine. "I loved you then, I love you now, and I hope I'll love you until the day I die." 

I bowed my head. "Thank you." I pulled her closer, burying my face into her hair, and breathed in her sweet scent. "But know that I'm here for you now." 

"Promise you won't ever leave me again?" 

"I promise." 

"Stay with me?" 

"Didn't I just say would?" 

"Not that, idiot. Stay with me, here...tonight." 

I gulped. I had no idea what to do. A woman, an amazingly _gorgeous_ woman, was asking me to sleep with her. Not only that, but the only things you consider as clothing that were on her doubled as toilet paper for some of the natives! I had to make a response, and quickly, because Naru was slowly loosening her grip on me, sensing that I was reluctant. 

"Are you sure?" I planted my forehead on hers and gripped her shoulders. "Usually if I suggested something like this, I'd immediately find myself flung into the lower atmosphere. You don't mind if someone sees-" 

"I don't care!" Naru whispered fiercely. She calmed down and put her head on my chest. "For once I don't care if someone sees us. I don't care if someone sees how much I care for you. I just want you to be with me, want you to hold me. I want to fall asleep in your embrace and wake up the very next day in the same position. I want you face to be the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see when morning comes. To put it simply, I...want...you." 

I blinked. "Wow." I didn't know what to say. It was... "That was really poetic. Sappy and corny but also very poetic." 

She laughed. "See? Even rough, old me can be romantic at times...Even though you've never said so." 

I smiled; couldn't do anything else. "Fine. If you're so eager to sleep with me then I guess I have no choice but to comply with you wishes." 

Naru smirked. "Knew you couldn't resist me for long." Well, it definitely looked like she was back to her old, energetic self. I was glad. I don't think I could have gotten used to a sad, mopey Naru. I would have tried, of course, but I didn't think it would ever be the same. "Just make sure you try anything perverted...or else." She cracked her knuckles threateningly. 

Yep, she was back to normal, alright. 

"First you beg to sleep with me and then you warn me not to try anything." I sighed in exasperation. "You are so damn unpredictable!" 

She giggled as she snuggled her face farther into me. "Maybe, but you love me anyway, right?" 

I sighed again. "Yes, ma'am." A muffled giggle vibrated my chest and forced me to chuckle also. I reached over, Naru still attached to me as though she were Su, and grabbed the blanket that was only a couple feet away. I threw it over the both of us and so moved backwards so as to lie down. I looked at Naru's hidden face and laughed softly. "You want to stop that? Unless you want to suffocate in your sleep, that is..." 

She glanced up. "Then what would you suggest?" 

I grinned. "Follow me." 

I lay fully on my back, hooking an arm under Naru's side to loosely hold her to be. She placed her cheek on my chest, putting one arm around my neck to steady herself while the other one took a solid clutch on my shirt. My free hand moved to lay lightly on her head. I slowly began to stroke her, from the top of her head down her side to her waist. I gave the gentle swell of her hip an warm squeeze before lifting my hand up and putting it back on her head to repeat the process. 

Naru was quickly lulled into a state of rest from my actions, her usual restless characteristics quelled. Right before she gave into slumber, she gently kissed my cheek, leaving a warm, moist reminder of her affection. 

"Good night, Keitaro." 

I gazed at her petite form, her chest rising up and down as the land of dreams brought her to meet its inhabitants. I kissed her forehead and put my arm underneath my head as a pillow. Staring at the stars, I also gave in to the vast being known as sleep. 

"Good night, Naru. See you in the morning." 

A/N: Wow! I'm finally done! You're probably wondering why I said this chapter was part one. Well, after I started writing, I had this tremendous overflow of creative juices, so I ended up writing nearly a 40-page chapter. And this is with my brand new writing, which has letters the size of a pinhead! Anyway, expect a chapter that's almost as long but still a little bit shorter. Oh, and if you still want to know what my accident was, I'll tell you after the interview. But until then, on the characters! 

Me: Well, since the couple's still stuck in the oasis... _(looks off to the side at a pile of crumbled bodies)_ And since I seemed to go a _weeee_ overboard with erasing the other girls' minds, I guess I'll interview one of my good friends and soon to be character of the story. But that's not to be for a while. I give you... _(whispers)_ drum roll please? 

_Drums tap in the usual fashion of introducing someone, trumpets blare across the scene, and a mysterious figure appears at the corner of the room, peeking in nervously._

Me: I give you...Chaos! 

Chaos: _(walks over to me, waving anxiously at the audience as he does)_ Hey, Yamiga. 

Me: Yo! How you doing? 

Chaos: _(shrugs)_ Fine, fine. First time in author world like this so a little nervous. 

Me: Ehhh, you're doing fine. First time I visited, I was scared shitless. This place is so damn _empty_ until you breathe some life into it. Anyway... _(motions toward my friend)_ Chaos here has been a good friend of mine ever since he's first reviewed my story. We've swapped e-mails and instant messages for a while, and now I've decided to make him the new character that comes in around volume 11. 

Chaos: Yeah, can't wait to be part of this story. And you even said you'd hook me up with one of the girls, so I'm pretty happy. 

Me: Yeah, did say that, but remember...Keitaro's _real_ protective of them so be careful of what you do and say. 

Chaos: _(sweatdrops)_ And why would I have to be careful? You didn't turn me into some rampaging pervert... _(stare accusingly)_ did you? 

Me: _(laughs nervously)_ Eh heh heh, well...Your personality is a little bit of the perverted side, but the ladies love you...really. 

Chaos: _(still not convinced)_ What kind of personality did you give me...? 

Me: _(frowns thoughtfully)_ Urm, well you know how Benitora, or Red Tiger, from the manga "Samurai Deeper Kyo" is? _(Chaos shakes his head)_ Well, if you don't, let's just say you mirror Miroku a whole lot. 

Chaos: _(gapes)_ You turned me into that perverted monk from "Inuyasha"?! 

Me: Nooooo...Just made him your role model. 

Chaos: _(steps threateningly towards me, outstretched hands reaching for my throat)_ Yaaamiiigaaaaa.... 

Me: _(waves hand frantically)_ Don't worry! You might get a lot of handprints on your face, but you'll also get the same amount of lipstick stains as well. And you also get really cool powers along with an awesome magical sword. 

Chaos: _(stops; thinks for a second)_ Well...I guess I can live with that. But you better not try anything funny with me! 

Me: _(salutes)_ Yes, sir! In any case, would you help me with the end? 

Chaos: _(bows)_ My pleasure. 

Me and Chaos: _(gives the victory signs)_ Please Review! 

A/N: Well, that's finally over and done with. And yes, it is a bit of a...well, not self-insert, more like friend-insert. Anyway, I'm sure you'll like the added personality my new character will bring just as much as you enjoy the new personalities I gave to both Keitaro and Naru. In other news, the accident I had was in woodshop and incapacitated my right hand from most use for a week or so. I was making a stepstool when I held a nail gun the wrong way and shot it through my thumb. Went straight through, pierced and lodged itself into my bone. Severed some never endings, too, so I lost almost all feeling for several days until they grew back. Had to go to the hospital to have it removed; still have the nail. I know how utterly _stupid_ that sounds, but I am _extremely_ accident-prone. Also, I'm just an idiot. _(sighs)_ In any case, I'm all better now and will continue to write until another accident such as this stops me. Heh heh...such an idiot am I... Anyway, Please review and remember, no flames! 

_Preview! _

Next Chapter: Livin' and Lovin in Pararakelse, Part 2 

I slapped my hands over my ears, trying to blot out the assault on my dignity and self. But my invisible assassins were not part of my surroundings; they were a part of me, of my mind. And there was no one to protect me from those demons contained in the realms of my conscious. They were unseen, unheard, unknown, but not any less deadly. As if to punish my insolence, the voices intensified, reaching a state of being where it almost became a living organism. It slowly began to devour me, devour my essence, leaving only a gaping void in its wake...


	10. Livin' and Lovin' in Pararakelse, Part 2

A/N: Hello, readers! I'm finally back with a new chapter of "And Life Goes On!" Sorry it took so long but I've had a lot of problems lately so I haven't really had the time to do it. For more details, read the author's notes from my new story, "Forsaken Memories." In fact, go read the story too. I really hope that you will enjoy it! Anyway, I will continue to keep popping out new chapters for my story "A Moment Worth A Lifetime" for the next couple of weeks. Also, stay tuned for a brand new area of fanfics from the game "Threads of Fate!" Hope you like that one also. I'll talk to you again at the end of the fic but now...a word to my reviewers!

**lilbsbllstar10:** thank you so much for the wonderful review! After reading volume 10, I'm pretty sure you can figure out just where I'm going to put the lemon, huh? _(laughs) _ anyway, thank you for the praise on my mushy interludes of the plot. : thank you so much. And yes. It is a lemon, in fact, after the first one, every chapter afterward will have one............Pysch!!! But really, there will be a couple of lemons but nothing too graphic as I don't want to be thrown out of but thank you anyways

**Blueramza:** Yayy! Another satisfied reviewer! Thank you for accepting the personality change, and also, don't worry about the girls appearing; they do in this chapter. Since I'm following the manga and also in Keitaro's POV, the girls won't show up until after him and the others are stranded for a while. Thank you!

**Aledeth:** wow...best five? That's an awesome compliment...thank you! Nice to know people like my writing style and don't worry, I'm trying to tone down the fluff. Still not doing a good job but I'm trying anyway _ (laughs) _

**notonereally:** okay! I'll update...like right now! Just please, don't lose your sanity...it's not a pleasant experience. I should know, I lost mine in a poker game

**Hanku Royiaki:** (laughs) thank you so much for the review! I've always been a sap for romance as you can probably tell, but it's nice to know that people appreciate my love of it also. And chaos adding coolness to the fic? Yeah, right! He's a total dork!...Just kidding, chaos!

**Black Demon567:** thank you so much. Here's your new chapter!

**sexybish666:** strange...I was pretty sure I had responded to your review...I'm sorry! Anyway, thank you for the sympathy from my hand; it's all better now! And thank you for the review on the chapter. It was so sweet...and also, about Gidget...Keitaro might have said Gidget was a girl but he also said Tama was a boy, so I really don't trust his judgment when it comes to genders. Plus...I don't like the idea of lesbian turtles...it's a bit a creepy _ (shudders) _

**Rainer Aquarias - Sage of Time:** thank you so much for the review! I'm sorry about the update times but I can't help it! This is just something I do for fun between school and work! I'm sorry. And please...please forgive me for this one. I don't like it when people are angry with me... _WAAAHHHH!!!! _

**GC-eva-fan2.0:** thank you for the great review! Best Love Hina fic...such an honor! And please, please don't send your French chipmunks after me...that's just too scary for words...oooooohhh, nightmares...

**G.A.S.A.M:** nice run-on...anyway, thank you for the review and saying that you like my chapter and also the end-fic-interview. I like it when people say they like the extra work I put into my fics. So thank you

**Lahmikhara:** you pervert... _ (laughs) _ anyways, thanks for the review. And Miroku won't be inserted into the fic but a person that resembles him quite well will. Hurrah for groping! Just...don't get caught or your ass is toast. I don't know this from personal experience though...I'm just too shy around girls...and I'm also an idiot _ (sighs) _

**Shadowed-Moon2525:** a literary masterpiece? That's really cool of you to say. Thanks! Sorry about the rockets though...but they do come around in this chapter! Anyway, my grammar still sucks but it is getting better. Maybe it meet your approval

**Boombubble:** hey! Thanks for the review! And you really like those moments between Naru and Keitaro, don't you? You letch! Anyway, thanks for being understanding for my update time and I hope that _your_ story updates itself as well...c'mon, I'm waiting! Update, update, update!

**NefCanuck:** thanks for the review and the compliment! Yes, I am definitely on a hot streak now. Two chapters in two weeks? That's almost a record for me!

**petran:** I've had a lot of problems lately, so I'm sorry! But I'm so glad you actually look forward to my stories, makes me so happy! Thank you for enjoying Naru's soft side...it's a nice change from her violent one!

**Android K:** Android, Android, Android...forgive me for not sending you a copy first. How 'bout I do one now? Yep, I finally introduced you...chaos! Anyway, kudos for the review and try to update your own fics also...before I scold you also!

**Doctor Emmit Brown:** thank you, thank you, and thank you. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as you have the previous ones.

**Gothmog:** yeah, I kinda made it obvious it was a two-parter, didn't I? Oh, and don't worry about the friend-insert. He won't have amazing powers or become the centerpoint of the story, that's Keitaro's job. But beware...he does like to steal the spotlight...and please don't kill me for being late...

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you for the review and concern. Here's the new chapter now

**Niak:** thank you for the review and for also patiently (hoof, _that's_ an understatement) waiting for my new chapter to come out. I love it when people actually anticipate what I might write next. Makes me all tingly

**anonymous:** yep, south jersey, that's where I live. Thank you for the review and I will keep writing, so don't worry

**im an idiot:** thank you for the review. Stapling yourself? I've done that too. But an even more extreme version is when one of my classmates to who stapled his entire arm, just to show us he could. He's scary that way but also a really cool guy

**Vivi239:** thank you so much for the wonderfully detailed review! I find it very nice to see that you find my fic good enough to help with your own stories. I feel like a literary hero or something...maybe not, I still only get B's in my English class. Then again it _is_ AP...anyway, may you enjoy this brand new chapter!

Thank you to all of my reviewers!

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do.

**And Life Goes On   
By Yamiga'sLight   
Chapter 10: Livin' And Lovin' In Pararakelse, Part 2**

I woke up when the sun's rays hit me smack dab in the eyes. Ahh, damn it. Don't tell me I was back on that blasted island. I thought Seta had rescued me I was working with him. I tried to cover my eyes with an arm but discovered that something strange was weighing it down. Blinking stupidly, I looked over at the object...only to find a sleeping Naru curled up beside me.

My eyes widened in shock. Oh shit...if she found us like this she would _kill_ me! I frantically tried to escaped from my accursed position, but found myself dragged back down by Naru's firm grip. She murmured my name along with the word "idiot" as she tightened her hold on me. Her grasp on my shirt became unbreakable and one of my legs was trapped between the two of hers as she nuzzled her face deeper into the realms of my chest, sighing in what I hope was contentment.

I groaned in resignation when I realized that I wasn't going anywhere soon. Giving into my fate, I gazed upon the young woman who was currently using me as a pillow. Her long auburn hair, pinned up by a couple of small ribbons, was spread all across my chest. Her eyes were closed, (obviously) but they weren't clamped shut. Instead, they had a relaxed look tothem, so it seemed like she was enjoying herself. This was only confirmed even more by the giddy smile that was on her face.

I chuckled softly at her joyful expression. _God, _ she was so precious to me. Sometimes I wondered how I got through much of my life without her. Not that I needed her to exist; no, that wasn't true. It was just that...if I had to choose between a life with her and a life without her...I'd much rather choose the life with her – beatings, misunderstandings, mood swings and all.

I sighed as I removed my arm from its job as my headrest and shook it for a moment to regain some of the feeling it had lost during my slumber. I put it on Naru's head and then idly began to run my fingers through her hair. The reaction was immediate. Her lips curved into a pleased, feline smirk. She sighed happily as she cuddled closer. I chuckled again at the content sounds. Nice to know that she was enjoying this as much as I was. Even out in the middle of the desert her hair still managed to be so silky and smooth.

The two of us lied there, Naru snoozing peacefully on me as I continued to stroke her hair. Many thoughts bounced around in my mind, not really staying on anything in particular. It was just nice to relax and stare up at the sky that was slowly gaining more and more light as the sun rose higher and higher.

"(Good morning, Keitaro.)"

I started slightly before looking off to my side to see an amused Nyamo who was crouching down and staring at us. I got a _bit_ flustered when I realized the situation she had caught Naru and me in and tried to explain it, albeit the fact that I sounded like an complete idiot. "(Urm, N-Nyamo! Good...morning! H-how are y-you?)" I glanced at Naru, who was now muttering darkly at my unwanted movements. "(This...this isn't what it looks like! R-really!)"

Nyamo giggled, a sound that had taken me a while to get used to after first meeting her. It soon blossomed into full-blown laughter as my expression became even more embarrassed. A small part of my mind was surprised to witness Nyamo laugh like that; it was the first time I had actually seen her do it. Strange, but true. However, this part was easily ignored as I tried to salvage whatever dignity I had left after my hurried explanation. Nyamo's laughter trickled back to giggles and then nothing as she watched the embarrassed look on my face slowly change to sheepish and then one that matched her own humor.

She let out another giggle as she wiped away a few tears of mirth. "(Ohhh...)" Another fit of giggles. "(I haven't...)" More giggling. "(Had a laugh like that...)" Light giggles. "(In a long time.)"

I smiled wryly. "(You're welcome. Nice to know my misfortune causes others joy.)"

"(Sorry...)" I looked at her dryly. Did she really think I found her at fault for my own problems? Such an apologetic girl...Then again. I really can't say that; I'd apologize if it were raining if I though it would make others feel better. Nyamo must have understood as much because the sorrowful look dispersed and more tranquil one took its place.

I smiled at this better look until I remembered what had caused this strange little conversation in the first place. My eyes snapped to Naru and then back to Nyamo, showing what could only be termed as "deer in the headlights." I didn't know what to say and thus only went as far as, "(Urm, well you see...this...her...not to say that I...we...didn't...Urgh!)" I gave up around that part, my head slumping forward in defeat. I wondered if I could receive a tongue lashing from as sweet a girl as Nyamo was. Luckily, there was nothing to worry about.

"(It's okay, Keitaro.)" Nyamo said as my face registered in relief. "(I'm sorry if I bothered you but it's not like I've never seen two people sleep together before. I see mother and father sleep together all the time. But I don't think I've ever seen mother sleeping with father in a leaf bikini before.)" Her face became pensive as she tapped her cheek with her finger. "(Although there was that time when I came home from grandfather's early and found mother and fa-)"

At this, her face flushed enough to show on her tanned skin. It seemed that she had just divulged some information that was not meant to be shared, and was now facing the punishment of embarrassment and shame. "(In...in any case, I-I'm sorry I bothered you! Please forgive me!)" I barely had time to nod before she responded, "(Thank you! Err...goodbye!)" And with that, she was off.

I watched Nyamo rush off before returning my head to its former position of looking up at the sky. Yes, if it weren't for the age difference between Shinobu and Nyamo, I could've sworn they were twins. The physical appearance, the personality, even the tendency to flee at any humiliating point in time – all were quirks that both of the two young girls held.

My thought were diverted from the two young girls to the young woman who now beginning to stir in my arms. Her head rose and blinked sleepily a few times before her eyes focused on me. Emotions flashed through them, varying from surprise to anger to disgust to delight. They finally settled on pleasant affection. Her eyes melted into half-lidded ones and her mouth curved into a seductive smile. I felt her fingers creep their way up my neck and tangle themselves in my mussed-up hair, effectively keeping me in place. She craned her face so that it was directly above mine. Her smile turned into a grin, not unlike the ones Kitsune wore daily.

"Good morning..." she cooed huskily. "And how's my little Kei doing?" All the while her face was getting lower and closer as she leaned in towards me. She stopped a little more than an inch from me, her breath easily mingling with my own.

"F-fine..." I stuttered out. A small gasp escaped from my lips when Naru slid a hand into my short-sleeved shirt and began to trace circles on my chest. I swallowed back the lump in my throat as I noticed the hungry glint in my girlfriend's eyes. "And g...good morning to you, t-too." I know I musta sounded like a retard but come on! What was I supposed to do? Leap on her and take her there right in the middle of nowhere? Sounds more like a frickin' porno movie than an actual relationship.

"No..." she murmured. She moved her lips away from mine and I sighed in relief from the lessened proximity. Unfortunately, (at least for me) the feeling of calmness earned from her retreating movements was swiftly shot down by the puff of hot air she blew into my ear. Her voice was silken...husky...loving...and just the tiniest scratchy because she had just woken up. "It's not a good morning. It's a _great_ morning...Because I get to wake up just like I wanted, in your arms." She nibbled on my earlobe right after, instigating a small groan from me.

Needless to say I was _highly_ enjoying these actions she was performing. It wasn't like I woke up every morning next to a beautiful woman, or that that same woman showed such affectionate gestures towards me the minute she woke up. However, I did not have the pleasure of thinking like that considering it was happening in the _middle of the desert! _

Naru whined in disappointment when I forced her to stop. She pouted at me, her arms crossed on her chest and her bottom lip jutting out slightly. After her little wake-up call, I was feeling rather swayed to just latch onto it and kiss her for all my worth. I shoved the thought away as I laid my hand on her head. Her displeased look reversed as I ruffled her hair playfully and gave her a quick smooch on the forehead. These chaste movements were sufficient enough to diffuse the initial lust she seemed to have woken up with.

"Jeez, you're pretty frisky in the morning for someone who's always calling me a pervert."

She waggled a finger at me in mock anger. "So what? You can't expect me not to be affected at all after waking up in my boyfriend's embrace. And besides..." She pulled an eyelid down as she stuck her tongue out at me. "You're still a pervert no matter what way I act."

I put a hand to my heart. "Aww, now that hurt."

Naru giggled and shook her head. "Idiot." She gave my forehead a small flick with her finger before turning so that she faced away from me.

I grinned as I rubbed at the small mark created. Like I had said earlier, I was no longer offended when she did things like that. It no longer held any of the ill feelings that originally went with them. They were just one of the only ways Naru could show affection towards me in public. Something told me I would have to get used to it when we got back to Japan.

I sighed at the irony of it all and propped myself on an elbow to look over Naru's side at her face. Her eyes were open, gazing across the oasis, obviously daydreaming as the absent smile she owned attested to. I smiled at her before kissing her shoulder. She broke out of her daze, a startled look on her until she saw me. Then she reflected my mirth before rolling over onto her back and gazing at me.

My hand reached out to cup her face, and she caught it between her two hands, putting it against her cheek to nuzzle it. She looked so peaceful, but something had been tugging at the back of my mind. I wanted to talk to her about it, wanted to see how she would react. Would she take it well, badly, or just be indifferent? While I was still debating it, it managed to sneak its way out, conveniently via my vocal chords. I hated the way my body betrayed me like that.

"You remember how last night you said you didn't care if someone found us?" She merely nodded. "Well...Nyamo did."

She tensed up, her nervousness and anxiety clearly showing through. Uh oh...that usually wasn't a very good sign at all. "I...I see." She then released my hand and turned back onto her side again. "And what did she do?"

I moved my elbow and fell to the sand. I scrunched forward just enough so that my nose barely brushed against the nape of her neck. "Well, she laughed for one thing." Naru turned around to face me, an eyebrow quirked in disbelief. I laughed internally at the look on her face. "As hard as it is to believe, she did. Course it was more along the of me looking like a complete jackass trying to explain _why_ you were clinging to me that made her laugh but..." I trailed off as I saw and heard Naru trying her not-so-best to not laugh not succeed as her eyes were screwed shut, a constant string of snickers exploding from her mouth every so often.

I sighed at the perverse events that had occurred within the last 24 hours and decided that I might as well ride it all out. It wasn't like I was ever going to have a normal life so I had better not get too upset over every little thing. I waited for Naru's demeaning happiness to subside before continuing.

"Then she said it really wasn't that big of a deal because she had seen her parents sleep together all the time." Naru narrowed her eyes. "Not like that! Just sleeping together, nothing else." I grinned slyly as something had come to mind. "But she did also say she caught her parents in the middle of foreplay once..."

Her jaw dropped. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. At least that's what I gathered from her reaction after she realized what she had said."

Naru remained silent for a second before rolling on her back. "Oh God, that's gotta mess you up; walking in on your parents while they're getting it on."

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you've done that before."

"Well, maybe once or twice right after my dad got married to my step-mom but that was about it."

I snorted. "You're lucky. When I was just beginning high school mine went through an early mid-life crisis. They were like a couple of dogs in heat. It was a like weekly mission not to catch them in one of the most obvious places in the house." I wasn't kidding; they were everywhere. Uhhhh...so many disturbing images...

"Ewww! That's so gross! I don't want to hear things like that!" She shot up to a sitting position as she looked down on me in disgust.

I shot up to the same position. "Hey, it's not my fault they were acting like a couple of horny teenagers!"

"Ewww, stop it! That's probably why you're such a big perv! They introduced you to sex at a very young age! They probably did it in the same room as you when you were still in the crib!"

Now it was my turn to be appalled. "Aww, now that's just sick! And you say _my_ mind is deranged. Look at what _you're_ thinking up!"

"Well, more than likely it's true! That would probably explain why you try to grope all of us any time you can! And I'm your girlfriend! You big, stupid letch!"

My face contorted in rage and I stuck it right into Naru's, fuming to the very roots of my hair. Now that isn't true and you know it!"

It being Naru's nature to never back down from a fight, she thrust her face right back into mine and scowled fiercely. "Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Is!"

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Isn't!"

"Liar!"

"Bookworm!"

"Pervert!"

"Tomboy!"

"Four-eyes!"

"Demon!"

"Bastard!"

"Bitch!"

I immediately regretted saying that but it was too late, the word was now floating viciously in the air. I was shocked at my own ruthlessness. My anger almost never boiled to the point in which I would use some curses. Maybe once in a while like back on Valentine's but that was an extreme case. So why would I...?

Naru's eyes teared slightly as a look of loathing took over her features. She wound back a fist and tore it at my face.

"You... _JACKASS! _"

Her clenched fist hit me with as much force as a two-ton wrecking ball. I soon found myself being flung across the oasis until I flew through the waterfall and slammed into the rock face behind it. My body peeled off the surface like plastic-wrap and I fell into the lake waiting far below. Whether or not I drowned and someone had to drag me out of the pool of water or I did it myself I do not know. I was absolutely not of the world at that moment and would be lucky to remember my own name afterwards.

It seemed like my good friend Gunderson had returned after a short break and came back with sweet, sweet revenge as his gift. What a world, what a world...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it appeared that, once again, I had managed to piss Naru off. I spent a good couple of hours chasing after her and trying to apologize after I had returned to the world of the living, but it was to no avail. Every time I approached her I either received the cold shoulder, super-sized, or an attempted punch to the kisser. Luckily I managed to avoid each of them but their message was clear – Naru was angry with me and she was not about to forgive me anytime soon.

I sighed as I leaned against the many palm trees that were clumped in large groups around the oasis. Great, what the heck was I going to do now? I was stuck in the oasis in the middle of the desert that spanned for nearly a thousand miles in diameter with four other beings, two of which couldn't even speak, and one of the ones that could would not, at least not to me.

I groaned to myself. Unless I wanted to lose whatever amount of sanity I had left after this little excursion, I had two choices to pick. One, I could get Naru to forgive me and lower the tension that currently plagued our surroundings. The odds of that, however, were very slim indeed. Naru could keep a grudge against me for weeks. It was all a matter of how much pride she had versus how much she wanted to forgive me. Nine times out of ten, the former outweighed the latter, so it was usually a long period of time till she would. All I could now was wait.

The second choice I had was create sort of signal, hoping that someone would notice it and come to save us. The odds of that were about the same as getting struck by lightning, but those were still better then getting Naru to forgive me. Also, there was the slightly interesting notion that I _had_ been struck by lightning earlier in my life.

True story. I was in the middle of a thunderstorm with a metal bat after I had gone to the park to play ball. Not very smart of me but then again...I've never been one for common sense. As we all know, metal conducts electricity, storm makes lightning, I'm carrying a large metal rod...Next thing I know my clothing is burnt to a cinder, I making my own smoke clouds, and all of the lights along the street have exploded from the sudden burst of electrical might. Yet another tribute to my amazing ability of immortality.

Well, other than that rather bizarre trip down Memory Lane, the time I spent thing was otherwise rather...pointless! Well, suppose I _could_ make a sign, what kind would it be?

Fire? No, it was hot enough during the day than to add any more heat, and I doubted if anyone would think it other than a mirage caused by the desert.

A mirror to reflect light? Same problem as the fire. Even if they did notice it, they would just disregard it as an illusion or trick.

A flag? Yes, that might work. I doubted people would not notice it if they were looking in its direction or ignore it as if it were imaginary. Only problem was...what would I make it out of? We didn't have much and I hardly thought we had such trivial things as paper, so what...?

"(Keitaro?)"

I opened my eyes and saw Nyamo a few feet in front of me along with Tama-chan and Gidget. I smiled at them. "(Hello, Nyamo.)" I nodded at the two reptiles. "Tama-chan, Gidget." Tama-chan flew over to land on my shoulder and gave me a small salute.

"Myuh!"

Gidget ambled over and idly rubbed his head against the rough denim of my jeans. He let out a throaty growl of affection and then settled down next to me, making sure to keep my feet pinned down with his chin. It seemed like the two turtles had missed my presence. I guess I had been a bit neglectful towards, but at least it appeared that they forgave me. That was good. I showed my apology back to them by sliding down the trunk of the tree, sitting on the ground with my leg outstretched, and allowing Gidget to rest his head on my lap. He myahed in appreciation and quickly dozed off.

Nyamo and Tama-chan giggled (if it were possible for a turtle to giggle) at the scene, and I couldn't stop the smirk from rising to my face because of them. It was funny that such things could happen but what else could I expect? Strange question to most people but some, not at all. Of course a large percentage of those "some" mostly lodge in psychiatric wards while the others are those people you see in the streets carrying a shopping cart full of empty bottles of booze and various broken appliances. The rest, more or less, are just people who either have vivid imaginations or have some sort of link with the paranormal, aka Hinata House.

Damn...I could connect anything to that place, couldn't I? Guess it showed just how much I missed it...and all of the people that it contained. Oh well...

I patted the ground next to me. Nyamo took the hint and sat down at my side, leaning on the trunk of the tree also. No words were spoken for a while, unless you could count the little murmurs Tama-chan made as she snoozed peacefully on my shoulder. Finally I broke the void of sound.

"(So, what did you want to talk about?)"

Nyamo shrugged. "(Nothing in particular. Naru seemed angry, so we decided to get away. She's really scary when she's mad.)"

I smirked again. "(Ha, told you she was.)"

"(I never said I didn't believe you. Besides, the fact she punched you halfway across the oasis kind of removed any doubt that may have been left in my mind.)"

I cringed. "(Crud, you saw that?)"

For the second time since I had know her, Nyamo laughed. Just like before it started as a giggle but swiftly escalated into a tremendous one. It was nice, not too scratchy and not too deep. It was mellow but still kept its feminine qualities. And it was not derogatory; it was the laugh of someone who was just enjoying a joke that had no consequences or had harmed someone's pride. It was just plain...nice.

She trailed off but the same smile as before stayed with her. "(Well, it's kind of hard to notice something being flung through the air, especially when that something is screaming at the top of its lungs.)" I grinned sheepishly, and she let out another short laugh. "(But why was she angry? Did something bad happen?)" She looked at me curiously.

Not knowing what to say, I just did what came naturally to me – told the truth. I've never been a very good liar; only by stokes of luck did no one ever find me out. Usually when the lie crossed the border of my mouth I was found to be fibbing. Never been very good, hope I never have to learn. That's just the way I like to live my life. Naïve? Most definitely, but what can _you_ do about it?

And I've just gotten way off track again. Please forgive my stupidity. Idiot...

"(We had a fight, that's all.)" Just because I didn't like to lie didn't mean I would go into the details of my personal life. Everything in moderation...even if I never actually follow it...Heh, just call me a weird bird. "(Don't worry, she'll forgive me after a while.)" I hoped...

"(That's good.)"

The conversation went on hold right about there, as both of us didn't know what to talk about afterwards. Nyamo reached out and absently began to scratch Gidget's head. He myahed and shifted so that he could Nyamo's legs as a headrest instead of mine. She smiled at his sense of a compliment and went on with her scratching. Tama-chan crawled up the side of my head and lied on top of it. She let out a turtly sigh and relaxed back into her curl. Tranquil was the only word to describe the mood of the air around us.

"(Hey, Nyamo?)"

"(Hmm?)" She looked up from a quite pleased Gidget. A confused frown was on her face as she stared at me, most likely wondering what I was thinking. I don't know why but she looked extra adorable at that moment, like a stuffed animal that was simply irresistible to hug.

"(Have you thought of any way of getting out of here?)"

"(Well...)"

She scrunched her face up in a thoughtful fashion. Again, the urge to just hug her silly came up. There was just something about her that was too cute for words. Nyamo fidgeted with her hands with another as she stared at her lap in deep thought.

"(We could always walk back through the desert...)" She stopped when she saw the vehement disapproval on my face. I wasn't about to go through that again. Immortality be damned! It doesn't stop me from feeling like I'm stuck on the surface of the sun! Nyamo sighed. "I thought as much. I'm used to that kind of heat, but from the way you guys looked earlier, something tells me you'd rather jump off a cliff."

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and growled at the mere _memory_ of it. "(You got that right. I _never_ want to go through that again.)" Hell, I'd probably survive the fall off the cliff. I do that enough when I get launched into LEO.

"(Then what are we supposed to do?)"

I sighed as I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the tree. "(Well, I thought of making a signal of some sort but the only one that could really work is a flag. Unfortunately, we don't have any materials to make one.)"

"(Why don't we use one of the blankets? I'm sure those would work really well. Their whiteness would show up against the mountain or trees, right?)"

I turned my head to look at her. That actually wasn't a bad idea. Pretty ingenious really. But... "(Only problem is we've only got two, and I doubt any of us want to go without a blanket come nightfall.)"

Nyamo shivered visibly at the thought. Her eyes went blank for a moment before they returned to their original shine. "(Well, can't you and Naru just share a blanket again?)"

I sighed. "(But then you wouldn't have one and I don't like the idea of one of my friends freezing because I was selfish.)" I raised a hand to cut off Nyamo from responding. "(Besides, with the way things are between me and Naru, I don't think she's gonna want to sleep with me. It'd be better if you two shared the last blanket instead. There's nothing wrong with two girls sleeping together, right?)"

It didn't really occur to me just how perverted that suggestion, but at the moment I was much more occupied with how to escape this arid wasteland than living out the finest of male fantasies. Now that I can think about it...Ooh la la, two girls... _Ahem_, anyway...

She nodded, two innocent to really think about or notice the unintentional implications I had just made. I was just lucky Naru wasn't there or I would have found my head stuck in the sand like an ostrich in 0.2 seconds flat. "(In any case, we better run this by Naru before we do anything else.)"

Nyamo nodded again. "(Yes, sir.)"

I chuckled a little at her formal mockery before standing up. Nyamo, along with Gidget and Tama-chan, followed in my footsteps as we went to find Naru. She was easy enough to track down; she was sitting by the lake, her arms wrapped around her knees as she brought them into her chest. I could not see her face so I did not know what her mood was at the time, but I could still pretty much guess that she was still angry at me. I took a deep breath to ready myself and then tapped her on the shoulder.

Naru turned around but the second she saw me her eyes slanted into enraged slits and her mouth turned down into a scowl. Yep, she was still pissed off at me alright. "What the hell do _you_ wa..." Her voice dwindled when she saw Nyamo behind me. Her eyes softened and she tried to talk to me with a little bit more civility. "What is it?"

"Nyamo and I finally found a way that might get us out of here."

She scoffed. "Oh really? And what would that be?"

"Make a flag."

"A flag?!" she stood up and waved her arms around. "Then what the hell are you asking me about anything?! Go make it already!"

"It's not that easy," I sighed. "The only materials we have to make one are the blankets. And since we only have two, you're going to have to bunk with Nyamo."

Naru's face registered in a little surprise. It was soon replaced by a look of thoughtfulness and then by one of concern. "But if I'm gonna share a blanket with Nyamo, what about you? You won't have anything."

I shrugged. "Like I said before, I'm honestly okay when it comes to staying out in the cold. What happened last night was just a very nice and pleasant surprise."

"But..." She stopped and looked helplessly at me for a moment before regaining the same angry expression she had before. "Fine! Do what you want! Just know that the only reason I'm agreeing to this is because Nyamo thought of it, too. If it were just you, I'd rather stay here than try one of _your_ hair-brained schemes." She turned around and flipped her hair for good measures. "I hope you don't do anything perverted while you're alone with Nyamo...idiot."

I watched as she walked off, contempt obviously radiating off of her. Damn, she was brooding herself into a fine fury, wasn't she? I sighed. "Yes, ma'am..." I turned back to Nyamo, who seemed a little anxious of our small confrontation. I smiled, which calmed her down a bit. Well, at least I had done something right.

"(C'mon, Nyamo, let's get started.)"

She nodded and the four of us walked back to the supplies. With the use of a blanket and a charcoal marker that was often used to indicate certain parts of our excavation sites, we were able to create a crude flag with all of our names and a large turtle on it.

I spread it out on the ground and looked at it. "(Well, it's not exactly art, but it's the best we could do. Now...)" I put a hand to my brow to blot out the sun as I scanned the oasis. "(Where are we going to put this thing?)"

"(How about there?)" I followed Nyamo's finger to see she was pointing at the large rock formation located in the middle of the oasis. "(I'm sure I could climb it and place the flag on top. It would be much easier for someone to spot it from that height.)"

Yes, it would be much easier for someone to see. However, the height itself was a setback. "(That sounds like a good idea, but let me climb it instead. As adept as I know you are to climbing, I don't like the idea of you slipping and falling to your death. At least I won't turn into a human pancake from that height.)"

Nyamo opened her mouth to argue but then closed it again with a sigh. "(Fine, but be careful, okay? Even though Naru's angry with you, I doubt she wants a squish mark for a boyfriend.)"

I let out an impish grin as I bowed formally to her, one hand behind my back, the other laid across my heart. "(As you wish madam.)" She laughed and I grinned again before waving goodbye and heading over to the plateau. Looking up, I gulped when I realized just how tough this feat was. Well, too late to back out now. I shifted the wooden pole I had attached the makeshift flag to between my belt and pants, making sure it was secure so that it wouldn't slip out when I began the climb.

I reached out for an outcrop of rock, feeling the roughness of it underneath my callused hands. It was then that I was truly glad I had performed so many menial tasks back at the dorm. It had given me nice rough hands, ones that were hard to scratch or tear and fitted almost perfectly into the grooves of the mineral. I gave it a slight tug to make sure it would stay firm before putting more weight on it. I picked up a foot and put it on another ledge, making sure that one was steady also.

As I moved, hand over hand and foot over foot, up the rock face, I found it easier to tell whether or not if any of the various tiny ledges could hold me or not. This was becoming fun; I never thought mountain climbing would be this invigorating! It was even more so because I was doing this freehand without any tools whatsoever. There was nothing stopping me from falling to the ground far below if I slipped or something else happened.

Thinking along those lines, I (regrettably) looked down. Later I learned that that was a rookie mistake, but I pretty much figured that out when I saw just how far up I was. I had stopped a good few hundred feet above the ground, the palm trees that normally towered over me on the ground now looking like ferns and shrubs. I gulped, as it was a long way down. What had I gotten myself into? I could not tear my eyes from the sight...It was almost mesmeric, the sand reflecting the light from the sun into swirls and other various shapes.

This proved to be my undoing. So engulfed I was in the natural light display, I did not pay attention to the task I currently had at hand. I reached out blindly for the next hole or outcrop of rock, latching onto the first one I came in contact with. Still keeping my eyes on the desert ground, I put all my weight on that one hand-rest.

It did not hold.

My head snapped to attention when I heard a crumbling sound. I looked up in horrified shock as I saw the outcrop I had my hand on implode in a puff of smoke. I also learned later that what had just happened was that I had a grabbed a part of the rock formation that was made out of sandstone. Sandstone, just like its name suggests, is a type of rock with a very weak structure. Most climbers try to avoid formations containing it, as they tend to fall apart at the most awkward of times. Unfortunately for me, I had to learn the hard way.

As I lost my grip, time seemed to move in slow-motion. Each second turned into an eternity. I watched as the rock gave way, changing into a slide for my hand. My appendage slid down and off of it, and as all of my balance had been placed upon it, I had nothing to stop me from falling. I struggled to anyway, my hands scrabbling for something, anything, to halt myself. But it was too late, I was leaning backwards, and the rock face was now completely out of my reach. I fell, flailing my arms wildly and screaming as though I was a trapped animal.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

A large thud later and I had created a human-sized crater in the ground, even with the slipping, shifting sand that was beneath me. I groaned when I felt two jagged objects rammed firmly into either side of my back. The pole had shattered in the middle from where I had landed on it. It was painful, but my body was too sore from the impact to remove it or even roll over so that it didn't press into me too much. I groaned again, my ability to speak dashed from my body just as my body had dashed itself into the ground.

"(Keitaro!)"

I turned my head, the small movement feeling as though I was trying I move a twenty-pound lead ball. Through my blurry vision, I saw Nyamo rushing up to me with Tama-chan and Gidget right behind her. She stopped at my side and crouched down, a concerned look taking over every aspect of her face. "(Dear God! Are you okay?!)"

"('llo, 'amo,)" I spoke. My tongue felt heavy and filled my entire mouth, barely allowing any words to exit from the doors of my lips. "(Don't 'eel so 'ood...)" My throat contracted painfully and I coughed. Red liquid splattered on my clothes, and I realized it was my blood. I coughed again and more blood coated my shirt and lips. "(Oh, 'ap...)"

"(Hey what's going on?!)" Another sound, another female, but my head was just as fuzzy and blurry as my vision, so I could not recognize who it was. Of course, my ears could have been faulty too. For all I knew, they were just hearing things. The constant ringing in them was proof enough that they might have been. A flash of colors – white, ginger, and brown, entered my vision.

"Keitaro? Oh God, what happened to you?!" The image solidified some, forming into a frantic-looking Naru. Her eyes were glistening, the overflow trailing its way down her pale cheeks. Was she crying...?

"'aru...?" I coughed, my throat ragged and crusty. More blood spurted from my mouth; I turned my head so that it wouldn't hit her. It looked wet...and sticky...in the sand. Speaking of wet and sticky, I could feel the same sensation spreading throughout my back. Warm...blood.? Was I bleeding? I managed a silly grin at the thought. "'urts..."

"Keitaro...?!" I felt small fingers probe my back and then retreat. "Oh no, he's bleeding..." I felt those same fingers grab my shirt and roughly yank me up. "Keitaro don't you die on me! If you do, I'll...I'll never forgive you!"

Die? Now why would I want to do a foolish thing like that? All I wanted to do was go to sleep and get some rest. Maybe then I wouldn't feel like someone had crammed me into a vice-grip and tightened the handle all the way. I just wanted to sleep.

Just...

Wanted...

To...

Slee-

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My eyes opened and the sun wasted no time in blinding me. I shielded them with an arm, my eyes dilating and shrinking to accommodate the sudden change in light. My body felt sore all over. How long had I been asleep...or was it unconscious? I did not know, but the sun had risen considerably in the sky since the last time I had seen it. It had to have been at least a couple of hours, _that_ I was sure of. What I was not certain of, however, was the current state of myself in particular.

My tongue felt like it had swelled up to three times its original. I stuck a finger in my mouth and felt tiny indentations across my tongue. When removing my finger I saw the tip of it was few shades darker than the rest. I spit, and a glob of saliva with a pinkish hue hit the ground. It was blood. I must have bitten my tongue when I fell. The taste of bile and salty-sweetness that filled my mouth also hinted to that conclusion.

I sat up, wincing as a streak of pain ran through my side and grasped at it. Lifting my shirt, I noticed a larger bandage wrapped around my mid-section. It circled me several times before tucking back into itself to hold itself in place. Large red stains both sides of me, almost connecting into one giant one on my back. I prodded it and winced again as another bout of pain wreaked itself through my body. I gritted my teeth as I gently peeled some of the bandage away, revealing the damage done.

I gasped at the gash in my flesh. It was literally ripped to shreds. What the hell could have caused this? My perpetual vision caught something. I twisted my neck, trying to ignore the _searing_ pain as I spread the wound open. A shard of some sort stuck from out of the flesh. I pinched it between my fingers, took a deep breath, screwed my eyes shut, and ripped it out. Tears rose to my eyes unbidden as the wound began to bleed again. I put the bandage back on and applied pressure to try and stem the flow.

When I was sure that it had stopped bleeding, I examined the shard that I had plucked from my side. It was wooden and stiff...It hit me then. It was the pole I had used in making the flag. Didn't it break when I fell from the mountainside? It must have gone into my side after it splintered. Funny, I've fallen from much higher altitudes but this was one of my more serious injuries. Guess I never really landed on anything that could severely harm me before.

Now knowing what had happened, I finally decided to take in my environment. In looked around to see I was back at the temporary campsite, a blanket lying on top of me. I guess Naru and Nyamo had put it on me after I had gone into shock or whatever. But now that I was awake, all it did was make me sweat like a pig. I pushed it off me, feeling smelly and dirty. What I needed was a bath...badly.

I found my glasses lying right next to me and put them on, everything coming into focus as I did. I was startled a little when I noticed the others were crowded around me. Gidget and Tama-chan were at my side, Tama-chan in her customary position on Gidget's back. Nyamo was sitting down and leaning back on Gidget's shell. A frown was on her face – a sad, worried frown. I must have given her a real bad scare.

I grunted as I tried to move, only to find that my legs had gone numb by some unknown force. This unknown force just so happened to be the last person I expected to see. Naru was sprawled over my legs, her head resting just above my kneecaps. She was also wearing a frown, but unlike Nyamo's, which was merely concern, Naru's features bordered on the edge of anguish. Tear stains streaked their way down her face and her skin looked even paler than usual. I suppose I must have scared the hell out of her too.

I sighed. No matter what I did I always managed to cause trouble, didn't I? Damn my bad luck, and damn myself for letting my bad luck take control of my life. I should have at least _tried_ to not be such a klutz, but I was just too frickin' incompetent to even bother. What the hell was I going to do with myself?

I shook myself to release my thoughts from their current path of self-chiding and loathing. Right now I needed to wash myself. After all, it felt like I had just swam through a sea of garbage. Urgh, did I feel like shit...

I carefully lifted Naru's head off of my legs and placed it back on the ground. After a moment's thought, I folded the blanket and put it under her head as a pillow. She murmured something quietly and her expression became even sadder. She must have missed the sudden lost of warmth...

"Keitaro..."

Or it could be she was just worried about me. I smiled softly before reaching down and caressing her face. The frown lightened a bit and her features relaxed. Something told me I would have to do this a lot more. She really seemed to enjoy it. And everything was right with the world as long as my Naru was happy.

Err...that sounded a little too obsessive. Couldn't help it, I still thought that she was best thing that ever happened to me.

I slowly stood up, careful not to strain my injury too much. I took one last look around to make sure everyone was okay and then walked over to the lake. It wasn't very easy, however, as every step I took resulted in a fresh flash of pain. I knew it would be worth it when I got there though. The water would help cool down my body and would also help to wash my wounds.

I finally made it to the lake after a short while. Well, it wouldn't do any good if I washed myself with all my clothes on. Could catch a cold when night came. And I doubted that the girls would want to see me naked. Would sort of confirm the misbelieved perception that I was a pervert, now wouldn't it?

I found a good medium between the two, removing my shirt and putting it on the ground. I eased myself into the water gradually. The second it touched my wounds, I sighed at the soothing sensation that came with it. God, it felt so good...I carefully removed the bandage and brought it to my eyes. It was thoroughly soaked in my blood. Oh man, this was a hell of an injury...Speaking of injuries, how was mine doing? I craned my neck to look at it. The skin was a good inch over it. Ahh, it was healing quite nicely. It should be healed by the end of the day. I loved my immortality...

Well, even though it was gonna heal, that didn't mean I would leave it to its own devices. I didn't want to risk the chance of it getting infected. I submerged the bandage into the water, scrubbing it furiously with my hands. Luckily, most of the blood hadn't dried yet, so I was able to get a lot of the bandage clean with only a little of my caked blood on it.

Finishing the job, I glanced it over to see if it was clean enough to wear again. It was enough, at least to the satisfaction of a man stranded in the middle of nowhere. I wrapped it back around my mid-section, the recent moistness making it easily stick to me and not fall off. I sighed, glad that that part was done. I could finally take the bath I wanted.

I didn't have any soap but that was alright, I had plenty of water. I was glad for that too. Dirt and sweat coated my body like a glove to a hand. My hands and arms looked like they had turned black due to the filth on me and my tan combined.

I took a deep breath and dunked my head underneath the water's surface. The rush of coldness was exhilarating on my heated skin. I could have sworn steam rose from it when the two came in contact. I slowly raised my head back up, the water dripping off of me to join back with its multiple brethren. Shaking my head to rid my bangs of the excess, I sighed. I liked this, it was...fun. I continued washing myself, falling into the water and rising again to rub my flesh of the grime on it.

After I finished, I looked back into the water. It was an amazing transformation. With myself now clean, I looked like a totally different person. It was then I noticed something interesting. I looked like a different person because, in fact, I _was_ a different person. I lifted my wet bangs, spitting the droplets that collected on my lips. My eyes widened. No, it couldn't be possible. This couldn't be me; it couldn't possibly be it?

What caused this reaction was what I saw being reflected on the water's mirror-like surface. A young man, tanned all-around with no shirt on was staring back at me. His boyish face had a look of puzzlement on it, only to be enhanced by his innocent-looking chocolate brown eyes. Unlike me, he had no glasses to block the sight of them, which usually made me look rather plain. His hair was damp and messy, but it had a style to it that was anything but ordinary.

Now, I have never considered myself attractive, and by such never bothered in taking care of my appearance. This created a never-ending cycle of me thinking myself ugly and then thinking it wasn't worth it to try and better my look. This led to me looking even worse and losing even more hope and then so on and so forth. So of course I didn't trust my eyes to be telling the truth about how I looked. I'm not vain in the tiniest sense but, as I saw my reflection, I thought that, to some people, I might actually be considered...handsome.

I shook my head. No...I wasn't handsome. _Seta_ was handsome; that was one of the reasons Naru had such a huge crush on him. But I...I was definitely no Seta. I wasn't handsome or cute or anything. I wondered what my girlfriend saw in me. It certainly wasn't my physical aspects, _no one_ could be pleased with that...Great, now I was slipping into self-pity/self-hatred mode. It was a favorite of my inferiority complex, no matter how much I wanted to be rid of it. I was such a moron.

I realized suddenly that I had been standing still for several minutes. I didn't spend the time doing much good. My body posture had taken on a depressed state with its usual hung head, clenched fists, and eyes that threatened to begin leaking at a moment's notice but never did. Negative thoughts ran rampant through my mind, the memories of last night banished to be replaced by all of the derogatory comments ever sent my way in my lifetime.

Loser. Liar. Pervert. Idiot. Jackass. Bastard. Jerk. Retard. Stupid. Useless. Slime. Son of a bitch. Vile. Every single one was like a sword slicing into the deep recesses of my soul, uncovering memories that I wished had been buried forever. Painful memories, spiteful memories, memories that made me want to throw my head up in the air and scream at the world and all of its inhabitants for the misery they had sent my way without any hesitation at all.

The insults circled over me, like the harpies of Greek mythology, mocking me, telling me that I was worthless, nothing, a waste of flesh and blood posing as a human being. And it was true. Oh god was it all true. I couldn't do anything, nothing, not a smidge of activity that could qualify my existence. But why? _Why?! _

I slapped my hands over my ears, trying to blot out the assault on my dignity and self. But my invisible assassins were not part of my surroundings; they were a part of me, of my mind. And there was no one to protect me from those demons contained in the realms of my consciousness. They were unseen, unheard, unknown, but not any less deadly. As if to punish my insolence, the voices intensified, reaching a state of being where it almost became a living organism. It slowly began to devour me, devour my essence, leaving only a gaping void in its wake.

Please.

_Worthless. _

Please stop.

_Weak. _

Leave me alone.

_Spineless. _

Let me be.

_ "I hate you!" _

Go away.

_ "You disgust me." _

Go away!

_ "Dork!" _

Go Away!

_ "I...I loathe you!" _

At this I snapped. My wish of raging at the world that had abandoned me was granted. My head whipped back, my eyelids fused shut, my mouth opened, and all of my anger, my hate, my pain, my despair was unleashed in a giant blast. I screamed, screamed like I never screamed before, like I would never scream again. My voice shook the heavens, breaking the celestial beings from their stations to witness an insect of their creation vent its insignificant yet boundless sorrow.

_ "JUST...GO...AWAY!" _

...Nothing. No call from a higher dimension. No divine retribution for my impertinent behavior. Not even a rustle of wind or ripple of water. No reaction at all. Nothing.

I began to wonder. Was there no god? No being watching down on us and caring for us? Were we just meant to be alone for all eternity, to live and die with no one by our side? Was our life even worth living? Was...

"Keitaro?"

My head twirled around, my hands falling away from my temples. That voice...it was so kind, so sweet, so...so _angelic_. I had to see the owner. When I did, I saw the owner matched its voice perfectly. A woman, a woman of incredible beauty stood at the line separating the earth from the sea. The sun was behind her, outlining her with a holy light of sorts. She had to be an angel, an angel that had heard my prayers and came down from its post to aid me.

The angel took a step forward, her dainty foot moving through the water. It raised a hand that seemed to radiate with concern as it reached for me.

"Keitaro, is that you?" Again, that voice. That heavenly voice. "Oh, thank God, you're all right!" The angel sped up, plodding through the water as though there was nothing there at all. When she was only a few feet away from me, she launched itself through the air, tackling me in the chest and knocking me down. Luckily the water was shallow, so I easily kept my head above as the angel sobbed into me.

But wait...angels weren't solid. They were ephemeral creatures, beings of light and air. So how...how could an angel be crying into and putting one of the tightest holds possible on me if they weren't made of flesh. My eyes adjusted enough to see the so-called "angel" clinging to me. I realized then that...it wasn't an angel; well, not the kind with wings and a halo and that plays a harp. But it was an angel of some type...it was _my_ angel.

A mass of red hair shook as Naru clung to me. I lifted a hand to lay it on her head, but paused when her sobs turned louder. No, I better just let her cry. Naru rarely ever allowed her feelings out into the open. Only recently had she begun to open herself up to me, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna stop her. Heh, not like I had much of a choice anyways.

I let Naru pour out her sadness through sniffles and tears. After a while, her crying had subsided and she stopped shaking enough to not show up on the Richter scale. She hiccupped a couple of times before raising her head up to look at me. The water had kept the tears from staining her face even more and washed off some of the previous ones also. Her bottom lip was trembling slightly as she rested her head in the crook of my throat.

"You're okay..."

I smiled. "Of course I am."

"I thought you were dead."

"Why?"

"Because you were bleeding so much! So much blood, so much..."

She shivered. I must have been quite a mess given her reaction. I curled an arm around her, using the other one to support us both. I gave her an unsteady squeeze, trying not to jar my wound as the added weight was already beginning to slowly open it up again. "But I'm okay now..."

"How's your wound?" Her fingers brushed against the mentioned object, and I cringed as pain shot up my side. She instantly retracted and jerked her hand back as she looked at me in horror. Her hand went to cover her mouth. "Oh no, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

I interjected through clenched teeth. "It's...okay. Just..." I opened an eye, straining not to yelp. "Just don't do that again anytime soon, okay?" She bit her lip and nodded. I attempted a grin. Didn't work out that well. My mouth was all twisted and lopsided. "Anyway, it's healing just fine. Should be done by about the end of the day."

Naru nodded again. "Good. In that case..." Her brows furrowed and her mouth curved into a scowl. She flicked me on the forehead and growled menacingly. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

I rubbed at the mark made. "What?! I was just putting the flag somewhere it could be easily seen!"

"And look at what happened!" She clambered to her feet and stood over me before bending over and pointing at me right in the face. "Do you know how worried I was when I found you?! I thought you had died!"

"But I'm still alive!"

Naru stomped a foot like a little child, splashing water on me in my grounded position. "That's not the point!"

"Yes it is!" I sat up and crossed my arms. I eyed her defiantly. "I'm still alive and that's all that matters!"

"But you still got hurt!"

"Who cares?!"

"I do!" By now, we were both standing up, our fists clenched and our faces barely touching each other. The two of us were glaring at each other, daring for each one to keep up this verbal fight. Naru was about to win. "Contrary to any of those stupid beliefs you have that say otherwise, I _love_ you, Keitaro Urashima, and I _do_ care if you're hurt in any way, shape or form!"

I took a step back at this violent confession. A mask of shame overtook my face, and I looked down, not wanting to see the disgust that would obviously be in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't say that!"

I looked up, my surprise evident. "W...what?"

"Don't say that damn word! I hate it when you apologize! That's your way for _any_ confrontation! You apologize, and then you go off and sulk like a five-year-old!"

My temper flared. I took back the step I lost from surprise. "Well if I'm a five-year-old then you're a two-year-old! You throw a temper tantrum if the slightest thing doesn't go your way!"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Then what are you going to do about it?!"

"I have _no_ idea!"

The two of us stopped dead in our tracks at my obscure answer. We both remained silent for a second before bursting out laughing, merriment shaking throughout both our bodies as we stood in the pool of water. Naru sighed as she leaned on me, her forehead coming to rest on my shoulder. "We make quite the odd couple, don't we, Kei?"

"Yeah...but you know what?" I let my head fall onto hers. "I wouldn't have us any other way."

Naru drew absent circles on my chest with one hand as she held onto my arm with the other. "You know, just a few minutes I was thinking of a dozen ways on how to punish you."

"Urm, about that..." I laughed nervously. "Is there any way you could forgive me?"

She smirked. "For which offense? Calling me a bitch, nearly killing yourself, or trying to start a fight with me?"

I grinned sheepishly. "All three would be nice."

"Don't get greedy..."

I sighed. "Fine...But first, I didn't mean to call you that. I had no right to and hope you can rind it in your heart to forgive me. Second, you can't be angry with me for almost dying. It was a random occurrence and I can't be found at fault for that. Third..." I grinned devilishly and pressed my forehead to hers, staring her slyly in the eyes. "You need to know you are not all-hearing, all-seeing, and all-knowing. And you are definitely _not_ the boss of me."

Naru's face erupted into an embarrassed blush. She managed to get it under control quickly enough and smirked coyly at me. "Oh, really?" she cooed. I nodded. She giggled, her tone sweet enough to cause a cavity. "Well, I can accept the first two, though I still think you're a complete klutz. But the last one...I believe I _am_ the boss of you. And you wanna know why?" she leaned up whispered into my ear words that chilled my very soul.

"Because unless you obey my every whim, you ain't getting' any more lovin'." She leaned back and winked. "Got it?"

I gulped. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good boy," she smiled. "Then I've decided to forgive you on all three accounts. But until then..." She put a finger to my chest and pushed. I was too stunned by her threat to react and fell backwards into the water. I stared incredulously at her while she smirked. "You'd best be listen to whatever I say...Bye now!" With that she walked out of the lake, adding a little swing to her hips as she did.

I groaned. Would it always be like this? The constant mood swings, the slow but steady loss of my sanity? Maybe it would better if I just drowned myself. I dunked my head but didn't stay under long as my need to breathe overruled my desire to stop the madness. I hacked and coughed whatever water had seeped in. I groaned again.

Or maybe not.

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After that interesting encounter I found out that Nyamo had climbed the mountain and placed the flag on top. Maybe I should have just let her do it in the first place. It would have saved me a lot of pain and suffering. But hindsight's always 20-20 so let's just say that I'm an idiot and leave it at that, shall we?

I sighed as I walked along one of the ledges of the mountain. No, I didn't try to climb the entire thing again, only a few feet above the desert. I absently kicked out at stray rocks as a small ting of pain went through me whenever I strained my injuries too much. Tama-chan and Gidget accompanied me. I was glad to have their company; it was better as they did not have the same sadistic charm most members of the human race did. Sometimes I really wondered how our kind survived throughout the years.

I scratched Tama-chan's throat. She was resting on my shoulders and she purred at the attention I was giving her. "How is it that your gender has so much control over mine, Tama-chan? Is it genetic, cultural, instinct? What causes us to cave in so easily to you?"

She blinked before shrugging. "Myuh myu myu."

I groaned. _ "Because we're women." _Ah yes, the universal answer of women everywhere. Because they're females, they automatically have the upper hand in the relationship. I turned to Gidget to try and get some male support. "C'mon, Gidget, help me out here."

He yawned, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. "Myah..."

_ "Just agree with her." _ I gave up around that point. It was a losing battle for my side.

I groaned. Even though we were a hundred miles from civilization, and even _further_ away from the girl-ruled Hinata house, the same rules applied here as they would there – I would always, _always_ get the short end of the stick for being a guy. Damn you, God...Make my life into some giant joke...

"Stupid, luck, stupid God, stupid Naru." I muttered to myself. It wasn't that I was angry with my girlfriend, just annoyed that no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I always seemed to piss her off. Who knows, maybe she liked to yell at me just to see me squirm. She certainly did it often enough. Just because she loves me doesn't mean she'd let the habits and ideals she'd held onto for so long die so easily. Mainly that I'm still a pervert and deserve to be punished for doing something wrong...as often as possible.

Of course, due to the fact that I was off in doo-da land and I'm also a severe space cadet, I managed to avoid noticing the fist-sized rock in front of me. Now, you all probably know what's going to happen next but I'll tell you anyway – step by step.

My foot hit the rock...

I fell...

Face first...

Into the dirt.

Well, now that we've seen an absolutely _fascinating_ example of what a total idiot I am, let's return to the actual plot.

In any case, it's amazing how one little trip-up (no pun intended) can really make you snap. After picking myself up and rubbing the dirt off of my face, I glared accusingly at the object that had offended me. "Gahhh! Stupid rock!" It's also quite interesting how humans can blame non-sentient beings as the cause of their misfortune. Mankind has always been like that I suppose, blaming everything else under the sun instead of its own blasted incompetence. Such a sad, sad race...

In fact, to prove this point, I decided to punish my assailant in the same fashion as the girls usually did to me – hit it as hard as I could and hope that it would live to see another day. Looking back, this was a rather dumb choice as rocks can't feel pain (or at least I didn't think so), and hitting it wouldn't really affect them in any way. However, I was too confused and bewildered from all that had just happened to even begin the process of rational thought.

That being said, my usual dormant rage and spite raised its ugly head and unleashed its full power on the miniscule mineral. Cocking my leg back, I kicked the stone for all my worth and sent it zooming through the air.

Now, here's an intriguing fact – rocks bounce. Uh-huh, yeah. I just _happened_ to find this out when the stone I had just volleyed ricocheted off the nearest rock-face and right back into my skull. Carried away by its momentum, I fell backwards and off the cliff I was on. Luckily it was only a short distance that time, and I fell into a shallow stream. But jeez, I might have to scratch the non-sentient aspect of rocks; they certainly enjoy their revenge. Ugh...

I shot back up to my feet only a few moments later. "Ahhh!" I screamed to no one in particular. "Does gravity have a grudge against me or something?! This is the second damned time I've fallen off something! And another thing – what is it, Tama-chan?!"

The smaller turtle stopped bumping my head and jerked hers in front of me. "Myuh."

I looked to see where she was pointing and my jaw dropped. Ancient, vine-covered ruins lay there in front of me. And they just happened to be shaped like a...giant...turtle.

"It figures!" I mumbled in frustration, bathing in the irony of it all. "The Turtle Ruins were right under our noses the entire time!" Damn...I really had the most bizarre streaks of luck...

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"(Way to go, Keitaro! To think you'd discover such an amazing find like this, you must really be destined for this kind of work. Impressive!)"

"(Wow, Keitaro. It's so cool that you that were able to find this place!)"

I laughed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of my neck. "(Eh heh, not really, guys. It was more of an accident than anything else.)" I decided not to explain any further as saying that I lost a fight to a rock wouldn't exactly help my pride or ego much.

Patting one of the stone steps beside me, I turned to my companions and grinned widely. "(Yet there _is_ a possibility that these are the ruins that seta and Nyamo have been searching for all this time.)"

Naru's face registered in surprise. "(Are you serious?!)"

"(Totally,)" I nodded. "(These ruins are the reason why we came into the desert in the first place.)" I ran a hand across the smooth surface of the outer wall, marveling at how well preserved the ruins were after centuries of its unused state. Then again, placing it in the middle of the blazing desert would discourage people from looking for it...Unless they were complete nitwits like us, of course. "(And here they are. I'd love to get to work on them but I don't have the proper tools.)"

"(Urm, Keitaro?" I turned to Nyamo, who was tugging on my sleeve. "Didn't Gidget have the reserve supplies?)"

My eyes widened in hopeful delight. "(That's right! Gidget _does_ have the extras with him. Maybe there's something in them we could use.)" I chuckled as I remembered our missing friend. Heh, I could only imagine how jealous Seta would be if he knew where we were at the moment. Ah well...his loss.

After retrieving some minor excavating tools, Nyamo and I proceeded to examine the ruins. It was amazing how well it was carved. From the looks of it, only basic cutting tools were used to make the stones that the building consisted of. But still...the fact that the surface was so smooth and without any type of blemish or other. It made me wonder what kind of intelligence and technology this clan once possessed. And if it was anything like what I saw now then why did they simply vanish from existence and why was there no record of them to begin with? So many questions yet none that I could even come close to answering.

But something was tugging at the back of my mind. I couldn't quite decipher it, but something _was_ telling me that things weren't right. Well, besides the our total isolation. Raising my head just enough to look around, I noticed Naru walking away from us. However, she didn't seem as pleased as I was at my discovery. Rather, she looked kinda sad. What was...?

I stood up quickly, looking down at Nyamo. She was eagerly running her hands over the stones and grinning like a child at Christmas. Would it really be okay if I left her only at the find of a lifetime, even if just for a little while to go console Naru on whatever was wrong? But...Naru seemed like she needed me right now and I couldn't let her down. Still...Nyamo shouldn't be left alone...

"(Keitaro?)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(Don't you think Naru would like to see this?)"

I turned to look at her. "(What?)"

"(I said...)" She jerked her head in the direction Naru had left. "(Don't you think Naru would like to see this?)"

It took me a while to compute what she was trying to suggest. But when I did, my eyes opened in both surprise and gratitude. It was nice of Nyamo to come up for an excuse for me to go after Naru. She didn't have to. But I guessed she sorta sensed something was wrong with Naru. Women's intuition and all that, I suppose.

Simply nodding in thanks, I waved goodbye to her and walked in the direction Naru had gone off to. Finding here at the edge of the lake I stopped for a second, just looking at her. She had a morose, almost remorseful expression. I wondered what was wrong. Taking a deep breath to calm myself and make sure I didn't do anything stupid, I stepped towards her.

"Naru, something wrong?"

She shook her head after a moment's hesitation and removed her glasses. "No, I was just thinking. I must say I'm a bit envious of you." She let out a sad smile as I stood there, totally confused. What did I have that she was envious of. What did I have that _anyone_ could possibly be envious of? "You seem so alive now, more than you ever were at Hinata House. I'm just happy you've found something you want to do."

What in blazes was she talking about? She was a student at the most prestigious college in Japan while I was a four-year ronin for said college. Why would she be envious of that? Besides, she was plenty alive to me. Whether giving me a kiss or punch she always did it with gusto. So why would...?

"Now what are you talking about? You're a Tokyo U student...You've got a future. That's more than I could ever say."

"Are you sure?" What? What the heck was she trying to... "I mean, last year when I was sure I had passed, I still failed." She bowed her head, her hair flowing down in front of her face and hiding her expression from me. "Truthfully, I was scared to go see them by myself. That's why..." Her hand went up to her chest, clutching at the cross-shaped pendant she wore around her neck. "That's why I wanted..." Her hands squeezed. "Wanted you to be there _with_ me."

No...

"I feel like I really don't want to go back to Japan anymore. What if I failed to get in _again_...? What then? What else is there for me if I can't get into Tokyo U? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I'll be all alone, just like before..." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she made this confession, collecting at her chin before making a long drop down to the sandy beach.

Naru...I had no idea. Failing last year...really tore her up inside. I could never tell how much it had affected her because she had had such an iron control over her emotions at that time. I felt the same way after it happened, like my whole world had fallen down around me. But...if she kept thinking like that she would end up just like me – always second-guessing herself, never sure that the decision she took was the right one. Besides, what did she mean when she said she would have nothing? She had me, right? She had...

Moving to just behind her, I snaked my arms around her chest and pulled her into mine. "Don't worry," I murmured softly. "I'm here for you."

"Yeah, whatever..." she sniffed bitterly.

"I mean it," I responded, tightening my hold. "I don't care whether you fail or not, and neither should you. Last night I promised I would stay with you. And I will, through thick and thin. Just know this..." I lowered my head, whispering as tenderly as I could into her ear. "Even when you think you've lost everything, even when you think it can't get any worse, even when it looks like the world is coming to an end...know that one thing will always be by your side... _me_." I turned her around to face me. "You will always have me, no matter what. That okay with you?"

The tears in Naru's eyes came faster and harder down her face. It wasn't until she had flung her arms around my neck and pulled me down to hug me back that I realized a stash of my own tears had found their way out. Oh god, Naru. Naru. Did you know what you did to me? She only sobbed in reply to my silent question. Perhaps she did, perhaps she didn't. Nevertheless, all that mattered was the precious bundle in my arms. It was all the better that the tears she shed were those of happiness, not those of sorrow.

Time inched by, seemingly to make that one perfect moment last for as long as possible. I embraced my girlfriend, and she in turn, under the watchful eye of the setting sun. Its glow bathed the entire oasis in a reddish hue, making each of the particles of sand shine like a priceless ruby. Somehow I wondered if it could get any better than this – the beautiful girl held by me...a desert paradise...tomahawk missiles heading towards us on a search-and-destroy path...

Wait...tomahawk missiles?!

WARNING! WARNING! HEAT-SEEKING MISSILES ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH KEITARO SYSTEM! ENGAGE EVEASIVE MANEUVERS! REPEAT! ENGAGE EVASIVE MANEUVERS!

'You know, for once I agree with you! Pick up your ass and freaking run, Keitaro! Run for your life!'

_--KABOOOOM!!!-- _

"WAAAAHHHH!!"

Rolling away from the sudden impact of the explosion, I shakily got to my knees. Naru managed to land next to me so I lent her a hand to help her up. "What the hell was that?!"

Naru coughed, a bit of smoke drifting off her as she did. "I don't know but-" Suddenly she grabbed my arm and tugged on it fiercely. Raising a trembling hand, she pointed a finger off into the distance. "Kei-Keitaro!" she stuttered weakly, a healthy dose of terror in her tone. "L-look over there!"

Following her appendage, I saw what appeared to be a miniature sandstorm. But then why was the ground trembling as if a giant was playing hopscotch? A stampede maybe? "What on earth...?"

"Alright, we found you two!"

"Gangway!"

My blood ran cold at that moment. Ohhh...No...fucking...way...What the hell were _they_ doing in Parakelse, let alone in the middle of the desert and here no less? It was proven now – either I was the unluckiest person on the face of the planet or God took personal pleasure in screwing with my life.

What scared me even more than the proverbial Gates of Hell was this. The tenants of my inn were racing towards us, the fire of Hades in their eyes, and were being followed by what had to be the queen mother of all turtles and her vast turtle army. Had I not been terrified beyond belief, the sight would have made me die laughing. I mean, c'mon...it looked like something out of an anime or manga. But since I was more likely to just plain die, probably from being beaten to a splatter-mark, the scene was just not funny at all.

'He's gonna die, isn't he?'

AFFIRMATIVE! THAT IS THE MOST PROBABLE OUTCOME!

My sub-conscious sighed. 'Well, it was nice while it lasted...'

_ "Nice while it lasted"?! _ I was only twenty-one, still in my prime! I couldn't die! Not here, not now! I didn't want to...Oh, who was I kidding?! We were totally and absolutely screwed! But...what did it really matter, huh? All in all...

"We're dead, aren't we, Kei?" Naru's calm and steady voice only managed to unnerve me even more. Then again, looking death in the face tended to make people act quite strangely. The fact that I answered in the same monotone voice as she did readily proved my point.

"Uh-huh."

"We probably failed our exams again, huh?"

I nodded, watching as the girls and their reptilian allies drew closer. "Yeah, and now they've come to steal our souls for all the pain we caused them."

She smiled weakly, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Sounds like a lot of fun..."

Somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of my mind, a tiny flame appeared. As it grew, components of my mind awakened. Survival instincts came into play, overriding all other parts of my brain, forcing me to reconsider the situation in their wake. Like a light turning on, I saw that my life was about to come to an end. How nice...Now what-

"Oh, shit!" I cried out in horror. What the hell were we doing just standing there?! We had to get out! I grabbed Naru's arm and began to literally drag her away. "Let's get out of here! Run, Naru!" She stumbled a bit but then, as if reacting to my touch, quickly came after me. Of course, our retreat didn't go too far.

"Hundred Flowers Blooming In Profusion!"

Whether it was an illusion of the desert or a trick my fear-induced mind was playing on me, I could have sworn I saw hundreds of cherry blossoms materialize around us. And then, not even a second later, they transformed into pinpoints of light, exploding like a supernova out in space. Naru and I were sent flying by them, barely hitting the ground before another barrage of missiles blew both of us around again.

Sprinting off after we caught our footing, I took a chance look behind us. The sight of more explosive weapons made me immediately regret it. "Damn! They really are trying to kill us!"

"Well what did you expect?!" Naru screeched back at me, tears of fear shining on her cheeks. "We ran away again! Of course they'd be pissed!"

A near miss from the tomahawks flipped me over myself to then smack into the ground. Rolling along it, my head bonked into something and forced me to stop. I looked up; only to find we had ended up right in front of the people we had so desperately tried to escape from. The girls stood before us, and any chance of being forgiven was quickly shot down by the glares they gave us. Could their looks kill, I alone would've died a thousand painful and torturous deaths. It was an unpleasant thought...but that didn't mean we still hadn't tried.

"P-please don't kill us!"

"We'll never run away again!"

"And we promise to pass next year, so please have mercy on us!"

What happened next was completely unanticipated.

Kitsune let out a short laugh through her heavy panting. "What the heck are you guys going on about?"

Motoko followed soon after, the usual exasperated tone in her voice. "You two always make us work for the smallest things."

The next thing I knew, a small hand had reached down and gently clasped my own. It kindly tugged on my hand, causing me to look up to see to whom it belonged to. It was Shinobu. She was crying, but it was surprising because a joyful smile graced her lips instead of a frown.

"Sempai..." she blubbered happily. "I'm so glad I finally found you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "We came here to tell you both that you did it. You both made it into Tokyo U!"

"...Huh?"

Somewhere off in heaven, God was laughing his holy ass off.

A/N: Nyahahaha! Ain't that a kicker? Keitaro made it into Tokyo U after all! Of course, for those who've watched the anime or have read the manga, you already probably knew that. Anyway, volume 8 is coming to a close with only one more chapter left in it. I hope you readers have enjoyed this one and will enjoy the many that have yet to come. The next volume will definitely hold a lot more Keitaro/other character moments in it for those who have read the 9th volume. I don't want to spoil too much so I'll talk to you again after the interview, okay? Till then!

Naru and Keitaro: We passed...We passed...We passed...

Kitsune: _ (shakes them) _ Hey, c'mon, guys...Snap out of it, will ya? You're starting to freak us out.

_The Hinata family is crowded around Naru and Keitaro as the two keep repeating the same phrase over and over and over again. Yamiga and Chaos are off to the side, looking at the group with amused expressions. _

Yamiga: You know, it's funny.

Chaos: _ (turns head) _ What is?

Yamiga: The fact that we both know exactly what's gonna happen to them from now on. I mean, as the author, I could do whatever I damn well please. _ (tone becomes more and more malevolent) _ Their lives are in my hands, mine to control and mine to destroy! They are my slaves, destined to work for me and only me for all eternity! Ahahahahaha!

Chaos: _ (smacks Yamiga against the back of the head) _ Dude, don't start getting a God-complex on me. It just doesn't fit you.

Yamiga: _ (grins sheepishly) _ Eheh, sorry about that...

Chaos: Yeah, yeah. Now, the question is...what are we gonna do about that them? _ (points to the group who by now have begun to slap the couple's faces in order to wake them up) _

Yamiga: _ (sweatdrops) _ Urm...for one thing, let's get them away from those two before they knock them even more senseless. _ (whistles) _ Hey, guys! Leave those two alone and come over here!

_The Hinata girls take one last look at the nonsensical couple before sighing in defeat and walking over to the two authors. _

Su: Yamiga? What are we going to do about Keitaro and Naru?

Yamiga: Don't worry about those two; they'll come around soon enough. _ (smiles) _ But how did you like the new chapter? You guys finally got to show up, and with quite the bang I might add.

Motoko: _ (frowns) _ That was a lousy pun you just made.

Chaos: Just ignore him. He's an idiot anyway.

Yamiga: _ (growls) _ What did you just say?! You want me to go off on your sorry ass?!

Chaos: _ (moves into a fighting stance) _ Bring it on dark boy! I'll show you for making my character a pervert!

_Yamiga types a few commands into his dimensional laptop and a giant sword drops out of mid-air. Grabbing onto it, he swings it a couple of times before launching himself at Chaos. Soon the two are in a pointless battle, which only confirms what a couple of morons they are. _

Mutsumi: _ (smiles absently) _ Oh my, those two seem to be very good friends. Look at how they play with each other!

Yamiga: _ (screams)_ I'll kill you!

Chaos: Not if I do it first!

Sarah: _ (sighs) _ Ehh, what a couple of dorks...They're acting like such children. _ (the others look at her in disbelief) _ What? I may be a child but at least I act more mature than them.

Motoko: _ (nods head) _ You have a point there.

Kitsune: _ (laughs) _ I'd have to agree with you on that too, hon.

Shinobu: _ (tugs on Su's shirt) _ Su, aren't you worried that Yamiga might get hurt?

Su: _ (grins) _ Naahhh...Yamiga's just about as hardy as Keitaro is. He'll be just fine...

Taro: He better be. Without him, we wouldn't exist.

Panic: AND OUR TERMINATION WOULD NOT BODE WELL WITH US!

Tama-chan: Myuh myu!

Gidget: Myaaahhh!

Nyamo: Umm...um...guys? _ (the others turn to her; she whispers anxiously) _ Don't you think we better do our job before they kill themselves?

Taro: Good idea! That'd stop their bickering!

Su: Okay then! Here we go guys!

Everyone: Please Review!

Keitaro and Naru: We passed...We passed...We passed...

A/N: So, how'd you like that interview? Chaos will now be a permanent part of my interviews from now on, at least in my "And Life Goes On" fic. Hope you learn to love this guy as much as I do! (even if we act like a couple of pre-schoolers fighting over a toy) Anyway, it's gonna be another long while before I can get a new chapter for this fic but I hope that you can wait and instead read the other stories that I have Just check out my profile to find my other works. Hope that you enjoy them as much as you do this! Oh, and by the way...Merry Christmas! Almost forgot about that! _ (laughs) _ Please review and remember, no flames! See ya next year!

_Preview! _

_Next Chapter: As Luck Would Have It _

_Naru squeezed my hand under hers. A teardrop fell from her face to land on it. I looked at her in bewilderment. Naru...is that really what you thought? Did you really think I'd rather leave you in pain to get back to Japan so that I could get into Tokyo U? You silly girl...You were the whole reason I wanted to go there in the first place. And now you expect me to go and abandon that reason? I would never do that...never leave behind the one person that meant so much to me, even if it meant that I had failed to get into that blasted college once again. You're all that matters to me...All that matters... _


	11. As Luck Would Have It

A/N: _(decrepit hand punches through ground; obviously decayed body crawls out) _Uhhhhhh……brains…Must eat brains… _(villagers scream in horror and begin to blast Yamiga with shotguns) _Ouch! Damn it, ouch! That really hurt! Look, I'm sorry! It was a joke, okay! _(Yamiga beaned in back of head by two-by-four) _Guh! God expletive damn it! Will you stop it! I know it's been a while but you don't have to overreact! Anyway, it's been nearly 10 months since I last posted anything. I know it's completely unforgivable of me to take so long but I just have had a lot of problems lately. The main one is that over the summer, I just couldn't write. Apparently I need mental simulation from school and such to be able to come up with the motivation and creativity needed. And after that well…it's my first year in college! What else do expect me to do! I need a social life! And thank god that I have a much better one than I did in high school! Anyway, here's the 11th chapter of ALGO as well as the last chapter in the Pararakelse arc. Hope you enjoy it. Oh, and first a thanks to my reviewers. Sorry I won't be giving the detailed thanks I usually do as it takes to much time. Thanks by the way!

**sephynarutocloud, Zefrn, well…, Sci-Fi Raptor, Blueramza, sexybish666, Android K, Shadowed-Moon2525, Black Demon567, Petran, Anubuss, Artful, llibsbllstar10, Vivi239, Gold Fish, SulliMike23, Zornoid13, sephierogh, memumbo, the little voice in your head, Martrex, FormoriCompletion, Niak, bsdisaster, Axel Sregor**

Thank you to all my reviewers!

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do.

**And Life Goes On  
By Yamiga'sLight  
Chapter 11: As Luck Would Have It**

It's funny how life works. You could be on top of the world and living it large at one moment, and then at the next find yourself in the sulfurous pits of Hell while some guy with an ego disorder continuously pokes you with a pitchfork. Then again, the reverse could be said as well. In any case, life is chaotic at best. You'll never know what happens next, and if you do you're either a seer or someone who can bend the very fabrics of reality. If you're the latter then congratulations! You've now reached the same degree of insanity as I have…

…Forgive me for the demented ramblings. Let's just say my brain has been on the verge of a complete breakdown. The events that had led up to that moment haven't exactly helped matters either. First of all, I thought I had failed my entrance exams for not the first, not the second, not even the third, but for the _fourth_ time. Next, I run away (as is my usual course of action for most troublesome situations), get on a cruise ship, fall _off_ the cruise ship, and end up on a deserted island. There I met my friend/boss Seta, get recruited on an archaeological dig only to find that my tough-as-nails girlfriend had chased me out to there. We fight, she passes out, we make up, we go out into the desert, get lost, find an oasis, get closer together, discover some ancient ruins, get blown up…

_Huahhh…_

And now I find out I have passed and _can_ get into Tokyo University! Oh, but did I forget to tell you that if I didn't get my admission sent within the next 18 hours I would be doomed to repeat another year as a ronin? I did? Well now you know!

Oh…Why, God! _Why! _Why did you have to give me such an amazing chance only to throw it back in my face! Do you enjoy torturing me or something! Sometimes I seriously contemplated that idea, as it was the only semi-logical explanation of why my life was like something out of a manga or anime. And why do I have the sudden feeling that someone is laughing at me…?

But anyway…it seemed Lady Luck had taken a liking to me (finally, a female that didn't want to kill me) and decided to hand me a break. Somehow Seta managed to find us in his rickety death trap (I'm still amazed at what the blasted thing can do.) Unfortunately he was all out of gas. Of course…However, this was quickly solved when Nyamo led us to a tank of gas hidden in the ruins. This made me wonder just why she wanted to find the ruins, as it was obvious she and her grandfather had done so beforehand. The broken-down jeep where the gas had been hidden in attested to that. Sentimental reasons, perhaps?

Not like I was about to complain. We now had the means to get out of the desert with it. Because of Nyamo, I still had a chance to make it into Tokyo U! Besides, I was sure that Nyamo would tell me the reasons for her deceptions when she was good and ready.

Still, the fact that I actually passed continued to numb my mind. I couldn't believe I not only finished the entire section in five minutes but aced it as well! Finding out that my chickenscratch-for-handwriting was legible enough for the people to read was also surprising. I mean, I had enough troubles with my own language than to worry about English, right? I mean…

"Hold on!"

Eh? No…I didn't mean that. So what--

I soon found myself in mid-air. Seta had managed to drive off another cliff (yet _again! _), and since I wasn't prepared for the sudden drop, gravity opted to pull me off the roof of the van and onto the desert ground.

"Gahhh!"

I rolled along the heated sand for several meters before gravity's friend, friction, decided I had had enough fun and stopped me. I looked up at the deep blue sky, disbelief and exasperation etched into my every feature. Did I exist only as the world's plaything? Was it really necessary for what just happened to happen? Maybe…Not like anyone would ever tell me, though. I groaned and picked myself up, seeing that the van had done a u-turn and was heading back towards me.

When it stopped the driver side's door opened up, revealing Seta. He grinned guiltily and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, part-timer," he laughed. He was quickly shut up when a shaken Kitsune smacked him in the back of the head. She, as well as the van's other occupants, must have been just as scared when he sent the van flying. Who wouldn't? Needless to say, Kitsune was not in a good mood as she yelled at him, her slanted eyes full of both terror and aggravation.

"Watch the frickin' road, you moron!"

I left the two to duel it out and climbed back on top of the van. Naru and Mutsumi were sitting there, concern on both their faces. After I settled down on one of the large pillows scattered about, Naru took a light grip on my arm. "You okay? You took a pretty big spill."

"Aside from a few bruises and a mild concussion, I'm fine." I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry for worrying you like that. I must have zoned out for a bit."

"You idiot!" I winced at the harshness in her voice. "Scare me like that again and I swear I'll kill you myself!" She looped her arm around mine and pulled me closer, resting her head on my shoulder. Naru looked up at me, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Got it?"

I chuckled at the act she had put on. "Yes, ma'am."

Mutsumi watched in amusement. "Honestly…you two act like a couple of kindergarteners." Naru stuck her tongue at her, gaining a giggle as her reward. "Though I do have to say you two make quite the cute couple." She smiled her trademark smile, one that projected nothing but serenity and care. Mutsumi was certainly one of a kind, an unbreakable spirit in such a frail body. She could truly make anybody happy or feel safe. A person I was honored to call a friend.

Naru sighed and tightened her hold on my arm. "So I guess this means we're all Tokyo U students now, huh?"

"Hmmph," I nodded. "It's actually kinda hard to believe. I mean, I managed to finish the entire section in five minutes and still pass it! That's got to be a record somewhere."

Mutsumi put a hand to her mouth, stifling the giggles that escaped. "I guess all these years as a ronin paid off, eh, Kei-kun? Oh, but besides that…" She leaned over and whispered quietly in my ear. "Looks like you can finally keep your promise to Na-chan, too."

I blushed at the thought. Naru looked at me curiously, but I merely waved it off. Mutsumi was right, though. I _would_ be keeping my promise to Naru, both promises. First, the one that we had made when we were little kids, about getting into Tokyo University and living happily ever after. And two, the one that we made after we met each other for the second time, how we both promised to help each other get into Tokyo U. I could keep both…and both with the same girl -- my Naru. I smiled.

Suddenly, Naru's face twisted into pain and her hand moved to her abdomen. "Ouch!"

"Did something bite you?"

She shook her head and smiled at me. "No, it's nothing."

I shrugged. Eh, it was probably just a cramp from having to sit on top of a moving vehicle for so long. Nothing too serious…at least I hoped so. Naru had the tendency to hide any kind of pain she had, as she considered it being weak. That whole "afraid of being alone" thing I guess. Old habits die hard…But in any case, I decided to move on to a happier subject.

I rested my head on hers, curling an arm around her petite waist. "So…" I began. "This means we're finally going to Tokyo U together, huh?"

Naru looked up at me, sighed tiredly, and then looked the other way. "You're just realizing that now? God, you're slow." Her tone gave me the inclination that she really thought that, but the light tint of red on her cheeks proved otherwise. Heh, she could be so adorable at times.

Mutsumi noticed the change in her demeanor and pointed at her, laughing gaily. "Oh my, Na-chan! Are you blushing?"

Naru's blush grew deeper and she hid it underneath her bangs, mumbling an embarrassed, "So what if I am?"

See what I meant by adorable?

I laughed as well, tightening my hold on her. "You are just too cute."

She shook her head and snuggled closer, nuzzling her head into the crook of my neck. I think I heard her call me an idiot but I wasn't too sure. Ah well, not that it mattered. We stayed like that, silently watching as the van finally made it back into town. As we pulled in the airport, I absently wondered when the next time I visited this place would be. Soon, I hoped. This place had become almost a second home to me in the short time I had spent here. The people were friendly, the environment was beautiful, the weather perfect…It was almost like heaven had come down to reside there…Or it would have been had Naru not been groaning in obvious pain and discomfort.

I put a hand to her chin and tilted her head up to look at her. Her face was scrunched up a bit and she was beginning to perspire lightly. Something was definitely wrong with her. Only problem was…would she tell me just what? "Naru, are you _sure_ you're okay?"

She roughly pushed my hand away and shook her head viciously. "It's nothing, just fatigue."

"But Naru…"

"I said it's nothing!" she snapped.

I slid back quickly, holding my hands in front of me like a shield in case her wrath manifested into something more physical. "Okay! Okay! Jeez…"

Mutsumi frowned, an expression of hers that I or anyone else rarely saw. "Really, Na-chan! Did you have to yell at him like that? Kei-kun just wanted to see if you were feeling all right or not." Her tone had a bit of an edge to it, something else that surprised me. Naru's reaction must have miffed her off. I guess that wasn't too hard to expect, as she was one of the largest supporters of Naru's and mine relationship.

"I…I…" Naru's head slumped, her eyes housing shame. She must have been just as surprised that Mutsumi, of all people, was berating her for her behavior. It's a rather humbling feeling to be on the receiving end of a chastising by such a sweet person. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout. I'm just tired after all this, that's all." She leaned up and gently pecked me on the cheek. "Really. I'm fine, Kei."

I stared at her critically, still not really certain if she was telling the truth. She smiled and shrugged helplessly. I sighed. If Naru didn't want to tell me then so be it. But until she did I would keep a close eye on her to make sure she didn't get hurt. During the conversation the van eventually rolled to a stop, ending up near the landing strip. We could see the plane waiting on the strip, a few mechanics on it.

Seta's voice came from below when he slammed the door open, the van shaking from the impact. "Alright everybody, it's time to get out of here! Let's move, move, move!"

I hopped off of the roof of the van before helping Naru and Mutsumi off as well. Gidget was an entirely different matter. Why he could not fly like his desert brethren I do not know but it would have made getting him off the van a whole lot easier. At least Tama-chan was simple enough. All she did was ride on my head the entire time.

After we all made sure everyone was in one piece after Seta's wild ride, we went into the airport's lobby. Looking at the departure times, I found another obstacle that God put down to, yet again, try to screw around with my chances of getting into Tokyo U.

"Damn, the flight got delayed!" Kitsune whined. "I don't want to stay here any longer…I've got to get back to Japan and my sake!" Another reason that fueled my belief that Kitsune had a serious alcohol problem. She must have a liver of steel if she didn't have terminal cancer by now. Ehh, everyone has their vices.

Anyway, what she said was true -- the flight was delayed. Apparently the crew was behind in checking the plane's maintenance so it would be another couple hours before they finished. I guess that's why I saw people fiddling around with it. Ah well… "On the bright side, it does give us a chance to unwind and…Oof!" The cause for my grunt of surprise was Naru stumbling into me. Her face was all flushed and she was panting irregularly. Okay, something was definitely wrong. This time I was absolutely certain. I gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face me. "Naru, what…"

Her feature suddenly burst into alarm and embarrassment. She smacked my hands from their perch and ran off, calling out behind her, "Sorry! I've got to go to the bathroom!"

"What's wrong with her?" I asked Kitsune. She was by my side, staring off where Naru had disappeared into the crowd. "Do you know? Because I am totally lost at the moment."

"I don't know either," she replied. "I think she's acting really weird, too. Maybe she's sick?"

I shrugged. I really hoped that wasn't the case but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it was the most likely answer.

"Hey, part-timer!" I turned to see Seta, Nyamo waiting at his side, waving at me. "Come over here! I want to talk to you for a sec!"

"What is it, Seta?" I asked when I walked over to them.

"It's nothing, Keitaro. Just thought we'd both say goodbye." He grinned. "It's been fun working with you. Who would've thought someone who just started working would find one of the greatest archaeological discoveries! It's amazing!"

I laughed nervously. Greatest discoveries? I wouldn't have exactly said that. Besides, Nyamo had found it before, so I really couldn't take any of the credit. The only way I may have contributed was my luck finding that stupid oasis in the first place! Urrgh…I really wondered just what kind of crap life would throw at me next. Ah well…

"Thanks, Seta. It was fun working with you, too." I tilted my head off to the side. "So how long are you gonna stay here? Until the excavation of the ruins is all done?"

"Pretty much that. Too bad you won't be here to help us. But still, I guess getting into Tokyo University is more important than helping us with the excavation. I'm happy to hear that you finally made it in." He grinned and winked in a playful manner. "Guess the third time's a charm, eh?"

I laughed and scratched my temple in embarrassment. "Yeah, guess it is. Looks like I'm really following in your footsteps, huh?"

In a way, I was. Seta also made it into Tokyo U after three tries and now I was doing the same kind of work he was, an archaeologist. In a way I found it kind of ironic. Was I turning into some kind of mini-Seta? We both had the same kind of personalities -- dense as a rock at some times, enjoyed digging around in the dirt (I meant this both figuratively and literally), and also were very persistent to the point of being considered stubborn. The fact that we kept aiming at Tokyo U no matter what happened proved that point.

Looking back I never really saw being like Seta as a bad thing. He was a great guy, someone I definitely looked up to. Turning out to be like him wouldn't be something I'd abhor or despise. Still…I wouldn't like to be an exact replica of him; I still wanted to be my own self with my own hopes and aspirations. Heh, and now I'm just babbling. Forgive me…

"Maybe you are, part-timer…Maybe you are…" He looked down at his feet for a second or so, a reminiscent smile tugging at his face. "Oh!" Seta looked back up at me, a flustered and sheepish look crossing his features. "How could I forget? I'm not the only one who wanted to say goodbye." He looked over at Nyamo, nodding his head in encouragement. "(Go on, sweetheart. You can talk now.)"

Nyamo glanced nervously at him and then back at me. She wrung her hands in front of her, obviously awkward with what she had to say. I sighed internally. Why was she so anxious again? She seemed to get over that when we were all in the oasis. Maybe it was because it was just she, Naru, Tama-chan, Gidget, and I there while there were a lot more people here? She always was uneasy when she was around new people, but…

"(Urm…Keitaro?)" I was knocked out of my daze when Nyamo suddenly addressed me. I looked at her, noticing that she was having trouble getting out her words. I smiled softly, trying to get her to relax. Thankfully, it did the trick. "(You'll…you'll come back to help us with the excavation again…right?)" She was blushing as she finished this.

Wha…? All she wanted was to ask me if I would come back to help out? Then why was acting so…so…Nyamo took another look at me before gazing down at her wringing hands again. It was then that it hit me. Nyamo considered me a friend so of course she would miss me, right? She wanted me to come back so that she could talk to me again like we did when I first arrived. I smiled. I wanted to talk to her again too. I didn't want to just leave and never see her again. She was one of my valued friends, and I hoped that we would never lose touch just because we lived in different countries.

I laid a hand on her head on ruffled her hair gently. Nyamo peeked up at me from under her bangs. I smiled widely. "(Of course I'll be back to help you out. Just make sure you leave a little of those ruins for me, okay?)"

Nyamo's face was pensive before it spilt into a beaming grin. I let out an "oof" when Nyamo suddenly hugged me, her expression nothing short of ecstatic. "(Thank you, Keitaro!)" she squealed happily. "(Thank you so much!)"

I sweatdropped at her show of eccentricity, uncertain of how to respond. It was not often that I had a cute girl hug me out of the blue. Still, it appeared as though my answer really did make Nyamo glad. My face shifted from embarrassment to amusement as I continued to ruffle her hair. "(Nice to know you feel that way.)" She looked back up at me. I smiled. "(I'll be back as soon as I can.)"

Nyamo stepped away and then blushed again. "(Umm…and do you think you could…ummm…)" She sneaked a look at the other girls. I followed her gaze, not sure what she was trying to say. "(Do you think you could bring Shinomu along too?)"

My smile only grew at this. Over the short time the entire gang and I spent in the oasis, Shinobu and Nyamo had apparently become friends. It wasn't easy, as Nyamo was too apprehensive around the girls to try and make friends. However, with Shinobu's kind and sweet nature, the two had formed a bond that I hoped would last a lifetime. It was only fitting that the two girls who looked and acted so alike would become friends. Heh, it was a bit funny that Nyamo called Shinobu "Shinomu" instead of her real name. Perhaps it was because Nyamo was unused to speaking Japanese? Ah well…Nevertheless, this was one request I was positive I would fulfill.

"(I'm sure Shinobu would be quite happy to see you again. Don't worry, I'll do my best to see that you two get together again.)"

"(Thank you…)"

"(Well!)" We looked back to see a grinning Seta. "(Now that that touching scene is over, we better get back to the others.)" Nyamo and I nodded and started to go back but then I noticed that Seta was walking in the opposite direction of us.

"Hey, Seta! Where are you going?"

"Huh?" He turned around. I looked at him inquisitively, wondering why he told us to go back while he went off somewhere else. "Oh, sorry!" He laughed in embarrassment. Was it just me, or did it seem like he was apologizing for a lot of things? First the van, then Nyamo, and then now. Was his brain functioning at all today? Then again, I really couldn't say anything. There were times when my brain went on frequent vacations and let my body fend for itself (more often then not this resulted in me getting flung halfway to Tokyo.) "I'm just going to go check what's going on with the plane. I'll see you a little later."

"Okay. See ya, Seta." He waved and then quickly merged in with the crowd. I turned around and walked back to my tenants. They were in a group in the middle of the boarding area, just making small conversations with other as they waited for the repairs to finish. I called out to them. "Hey, guys!"

Kitsune was the first to respond. "Oh, hey, Keitaro. What were you doin' before?"

"Just talking to Seta. And you guys?"

"Nothing much. Just this and that." She moved closer. "But mostly we were talking about how cool it was that you finally made it into college. Guess you're finally a big university student now." Kitsune moved even closer. I could tell something was up when she put a hand on my chest. Aww crap…What was she trying to do now? "In a way, it's kinda sexy. Maybe I should try to steal you away from Naru," she purred. Her hand moved up, lightly grasping my chin and forcing my face to her level. I began to sweat abnormally at the feral look she was projecting. "Does that sound good?" Her voice was dripping with honey.

Oh dear…Something bad was going to happen, I just knew it. Luckily the girls were quite used to Kitsune's pretend wanton behaviors and just sighed in exasperation. As for me…my mind chose the option that it normally did when Kitsune made these types of motions around me -- run away screaming like an imbecile!

"Gaaaahhhhh!" I jumped away from the aptly named fox, making sure I put a good distance of a meter or so between us. I could feel my heart racing. Even though I had become accustomed to Kitsune's not-so-subtle teasings, it didn't mean that I enjoyed being put on the receiving end of them. More often then not they led to either Naru or Motoko beating me into a comatose state. That I did _not_ enjoy…Putting a hand to my rapidly-beating chest, I squawked out, "Jeez, Kitsune! Don't you _ever_ get tired of making fun of me!"

"Nyahaha!" She merely flapped a hand at my frustration. "I can't help it! You're just too easy to tease. Not to mention it's so fun watching you get all flustered." Great, so she also had a sadistic streak. That was just what I needed.

"Really, Kitsune…" Motoko muttered. "Why must you toy with fate? You know how perverted Urashima is. One day he's going to take your offers seriously and try to have his way with you."

I glared at Motoko. Why did she always have to say that about me? I wasn't the humongous pervert she and the others thought I was. Besides, why would I go after Kitsune when I already had Naru? …Not that I would ever try to take advantage of my girlfriend, I wouldn't. Hell, if I even attempted that I would lose the piece that influenced me to do so.

"Oh really? And why are you telling me to stop?" Kitsune's attention transferred from me to Motoko, and for that I was grateful. At least she wouldn't mock me mercilessly. However, what she said next to the raven-haired girl immediately made me regret that opinion. "Is it because _you're_ going after Keitaro now?"

Motoko's pale cheeks burst into a horrible blush and she stared at me, her face carrying an unknown expression. I was stricken with panic, as I knew that anytime Motoko blushed for any reason that concerned me was followed with a sword slash accompanying a verbal denial that she wanted to have anything to do with me. So my reaction was quite understandable.

My arms wrenched over my head as I struggled to protect myself from a possible onslaught. "Gahhhhh!" I cried, bending over to make sure there was as little of me to hit as possible. "Please don't kill me! I'm not thinking anything perverted! Really! I'm not! Don'thitmedon'thitmedon'thitmedon'thitme!" Okay, the added mantra of her begging not to beat me was pretty pathetic (not to mention it rarely ever worked) but it was one of the only things that helped to keep me partially hopeful I wouldn't be booted into the stratosphere.

"Urgh. Urashima, must you act like such a weakling male?" I glanced up, amazed that I hadn't just got my ass handed to me. Motoko's face had reverted back to its normal color, though signs of embarrassment still lingered. "I swear…someone like you getting into such an acclaimed college is beyond belief. Still…" Her mouth quirked up into the tiniest of smiles. "I must admit…I'm rather impressed that you made it. I honestly thought you would commit suicide before doing so."

Eheh…was that a compliment or an insult? With Motoko I could never tell. The line between her showing praise or just a well-disguised insult was very thin indeed. Still, I might as well consider it a compliment. Hinata House's kendoist rarely gave compliments to me…if ever.

Su's head popped up from behind Motoko's shoulder where she was clinging. A grin had blossomed on her face. Uh-oh…I knew that smile. Su was about to say something innocent and yet _extremely_ inappropriate at the same time. I had to get out of there…

"So does that mean you _do_ like Keitaro? I bet Naru would share him with you if you asked nicely!"

And…I was right.

Motoko's blush returned with a vengeance. She looked at me and then at the others and then at me again. Oh crap…Her hand inched towards her sheathed katana. Double crap… "Urashima…" Her tone had a definite hint of steel to it. Triple crap… "You scoundrel! I _know_ you're thinking something perverted now!"

Shit!

"Aaaiiiieeeee!" Yeah, I know, I screamed like a little sissy-girl. But c'mon! How else could I have reacted? I had a furious master swordsman (err…swords-_woman_) ready to lop my head off. Not the best scenario. And on that note… "Oh, god! I'm not thinking anything! Really!"

Well, the look on her face proved she didn't really believe me, so… "Umm…urm…goodbye!" I took off like there was no tomorrow, which may or may not have been true.

"Urashima! Don't try to weasel out of this!" Like hell I wasn't going to! I really did _not_ need a Motoko strike right now! Unfortunately…I didn't get very far. "Rock-splitting sword!"

Okay…I was dead.

The next thing I knew, I had flown all the way across the lobby and ended up plastered into the Plexiglas window. It was surprising that the window didn't shatter from the impact. Then again, most of the impact had been absorbed after I skipped across the floor a couple of times. I was vaguely aware of someone prying me from the wall. That same person then proceeded to fling me across his/her shoulder and carry me off. I absently wondered if I was being kidnapped. Of course, the kidnapper would have to be pretty stupid to just abduct me after that little stunt Motoko pulled but I really wasn't thinking too clearly around that point.

The said person unceremoniously flopped me onto one of the benches before engaging in conversation with another. Once I had regained enough coherency (and once my head didn't feel like an elephant just sat on it), I was able to listen to what the people were saying.

"Now really, Motoko, was that necessary?"

"Hmph, Urashima was being a pervert. I was just punishing him for his miscreant deeds."

"Motoko, you scared half the people in here shitless…I doubt they're used to just having someone pull out a sword and blast another person with it." Okay, this one was another voice. And it was filled with overbearing exasperation and annoyance.

"Urgh…feel like I just got run over." I slowly sat up, holding my head between my hands. My vision cleared enough so that I could see the three people conversing were Seta, Motoko, and Kitsune. Huh…Seta must have been done talking with the mechanics. That was quick…

"Oh my, Kei-kun, are you all right?" I looked up to see Mutsumi bending at the waist slightly and gazing in concern at me. "Motoko hit you quite hard that time."

I waved it off. "Nothing I'm not used to." I stood up and then walked over to Motoko. I laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, Motoko. I didn't mean to do anything bad or something."

She scrutinized me, a frown adorning her face. "So you _were_ thinking something perverted."

My face cracked into horror. Of course I wasn't thinking anything perverted! I was too scared to think of anything like that. Shacking up with Motoko, I mean. Oh, or a threesome. Yeah, a threesome would be perverted. Yeah, _really_ perverted. Ooooooooh……………Gah! No! Uh-uh! That was the type of stuff that got me into trouble in the first place! No way! No how! I wasn't going to think about having _both_ Naru and Motoko at the same time, not having them both…Gaaaaahhhh! Must stop! Must stop being so degraded! Must stop or Motoko would castrate me!

I raised my hands and crossed them in front of my face. "No! I wasn't thinking anything bad! Really I wasn't. I'm a good boy!" I lowered my head in defeat. "Please don't kill me…"

"Pathetic…"

I groaned miserably. Yet another loss for me, and another win for the girls of Hinata House. Would I ever win an argument with any of them? The answer was simple and came quite easily -- Not. Bloody. Likely.

Why was I such an idiot? Huhh…

After Motoko made me go through one of her punishments, we had a wide berth between us and the people populating the airport. They didn't want to get involved in our antics, and for that I couldn't blame them. I had pretty much the same idea, so I stayed off to the side, determined not to make any more life-threatening mistakes. As long as I was ignored and not talked of, I didn't run the risk of one of them misinterpreting something and then trying to brutally maim me. Or at least that's what I attempted until Su decided to discard Motoko as her perch, opting to cling to me instead.

"So, Keitaro, you're finally not a ronin anymore, are yas?"

"I suppose not."

"Too bad." She began to rub her cheek against mine, a trait that seemed to appear whenever she felt either playful or lonely. I wondered which she was feeling this time? "I'm gonna miss not being able to call you that anymore. It was so funnies to call you the great ronin."

"Urm, Su? You never called me that."

She looked at me strangely. "I didn't?" I shook my head. She frowned "Oh, poo! I forgot to use a perfectly good nickname!" I laughed softly. Really, Su could be so cute sometimes if she wasn't either trying to use me as one of her test subjects or blowing me up with one of her Tama-missiles. Su smiled back, reflecting my merriment. "But I guess you wouldn't have liked that."

"No," I chuckled. "I wouldn't have, Su."

"Oh wells…" She resumed nuzzling my cheek. She really liked doing that. I remembered that when I had first arrived at Hinata House she said she enjoyed nuzzling against me the most, as I had the softest hair and skin she had nuzzled to (even more so than Motoko). I could tell she was trying to be nice but it was still irritating that my baby face made me more of a woman than an actual woman was. "Looks like I'll just have to think of another nickname for ya."

"Can't you just call me Keitaro?"

She stopped rubbing and put a finger to her chin. "You know, I never thought of that." I did nothing but sigh…

Eventually I moved back to the girls, engaging them in mild conversation. Fortunately nothing improper came up, so the time passed kind of quickly. Naru came back after a while but then disappeared once again after complaining about stomach pains and having to go to the bathroom again. Oh man…She _had_ to be sick…No one went to the bathroom that often for nothing. I tried to sneak an answer out of her when she returned, but Kitsune beat me to the punch.

As Naru stumbled towards us through the crowd, clutching at her abdomen and a look of pure despair blanketing her face, Kitsune got to her first. She cupped her chin and asked in a troubled tone, "You keep going in there. You not feeling good?"

Naru's expression dissolved into alarm. "Ah…Ah, I'm okay. Really, I am." She giggled nervously, her voice abnormally high-pitched, cracking at certain times. Even a person as dense as me could tell when she was lying or not. And boy, was she lying…

Shinobu was the next to ask. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Then came Sarah and Su. "We can make you feel all better!" they shouted in unison. Urgh…Was I ever going to be able to ask my own girlfriend if she was sick or not!

Naru kept giggling and then stopped, covering her mouth with a hand. She looked like she was about to puke. That's never good…Before I could do or say anything, she was already leaving. "Umm…okay, maybe I don't feel so good. I'm gonna go lie down in the infirmary for a while. Call me when the flight's ready. Ha ha ha…"

We all sweatdropped when she walked straight into the doorway with all the grace of Mutsumi, almost fell on her butt, shook her head a few times, and then shuffled into the room. If it weren't for the idea that she was seriously ill, the entire scene would have been very comical.

"I wonder what's wrong with Na-chan?"

"I have no idea…"

"You guys stay here." Kitsune followed after our current mystery girl. "I'm gonna find out what's wrong with Naru even if I have to drag it out of her."

The others went back to talking when Kitsune walked into the room. I, on the other hand, decided to listen in on Naru and Kitsune. I wasn't eavesdropping, I just wanted to find out what was wrong with my girlfriend…Okay, I know that it sounds like I'm just rationalizing my crime but I doubt you've never done it either so just shut up and allow me to continue. Anyway…

All I really heard was a few whispered comments and then some agitated shouts. I couldn't really figure out just what they were saying since trying to eavesdrop through a three-inch-thick metal door wasn't all that smart of an idea. Sound really doesn't travel through something that solid very well. At least not when you're trying to understand what the sound is saying.

The one thing I did hear was footsteps coming back out. Because I didn't want to be found in such a guilty looking position, I jumped away from the door. It opened right after I did so and Kitsune came walking out. She was muttering something along the lines of, "Ahh, I guess that's just one of those things everyone's embarrassed to talk about." Didn't really know what the heck she was talking about but…

"Uh, Kitsune?" She hopped in startlement when I appeared behind her. Well, she wasn't expecting me to just be there, huh? That was a first. "Is everything all right with Naru?"

Kitsune regained her composer rather quickly. When she did, her face immediately changed to one of her "fox-grin" modes. How was she going to tease me now? "Keitaro…" she crooned. I knew it. "Were you spying on us?"

I blushed, revealing that I had indeed been doing just that. Not that I didn't try to deny it. "Ah…no! I didn't…I wasn't…I wasn't doing anything bad!"

"Heh, your face gives you away." I just stood there, wishing I had better control over my blood vessels. "You really are a bad liar, Keitaro. Anyway, Naru's fine. Just a minor case of di--" Her face melted into one that matched Naru's only a few minutes before. "I mean…urm…"

"Di…? What does Naru have, Kitsune?" Why did she suddenly stop just when she was about to tell me what was wrong with Naru? Was it something bad? Oh no, what if she was…!

"Um, well…you see…she's got a fever…and uh, a cough. A bad cough!" By now she was flailing he arms around like an idiot, much like I did whenever I was going into one of my mental breakdowns. Oh yeah, _that_ was always a ton of fun. I noticed Tama-chan floating beside her and reflecting Kitsune's movements. Where did she come from…? My thoughts were broken as Kitsune continued to ramble. "Like really nasty, and you'll, uh, be really scared!"

My eyebrows rose at her erratic movements and choice of words. "Are _you_ okay?" It was starting to get freaky seeing Kitsune like this, obviously rattled by something. She was never really disturbed by most things, was always calm and collected. Well…unless she lost one of her bets; then she would act like she was now.

"I know!" I jumped when she took me by the shoulders, tears collecting at the corners of her eyes. "She's…she's pregnant!"

…

…

…

_What…!_

"And you better take responsibility too!"

"Stop lying!" I cried. Right! As if she was pregnant! To be pregnant we had to have…I mean, she and I had to…Well, what I mean to say is…Well we didn't! I know we didn't! I was pretty sure we didn't…No! I was absolutely, positively, and completely certain that we did not do…that…thing…

By now my face was fuming red. Kitsune's ploy to distract me from whatever had happened to Naru had really worked. For about five seconds…Then I went back to worrying.

Kitsune ran off, glad she had dissuaded me from interrogating her. Not like I had the brains or the gall to. What really was wrong with Naru? I had to find out.

Walking into the infirmary, I found out which of the sleeping areas was Naru's and made my way to it. I rapped on the door lightly. "Naru, you in there?" A distinct "eep!" was her response. Yep, she was in there all right. "Naru…" I asked as I opened the door, revealing my girlfriend to be sitting on one of the cots. "You got a minute?"

She fidgeted with the blanket of the cot, keeping one arm over her stomach. She seemed determined not to look at me. "W-what is it?"

I sighed. "You know what it is. Now what the heck is going on? I know you're sick. So what…?"

Naru's eyes shifted even more to the cot, now even more interested in the wrinkles that played along its surface. "Could you just leave me alone please? I'm not really in the mood to talk."

I frowned, my eyebrows furrowing with irritation. Why was she so determined not to tell me? "Naru, what's with you? Why are you being so evasive? Why can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

The frown on her face and the pain in her features wound tighter. She was breathing very heavily and I could see tears beginning to gather and slip down her cheeks. "K-Keitaro, please…Would you…let me be alone for a while…Please?" The last word was directed solely at me, her view finally on my face and not at the piece of furniture she was on.

"Naru! What is wrong! Please! Tell me!"

"Keitaro…I can't…I can't hold…" She flopped onto her side, her panting even heavier, her chest heaving with each breath she took. Oh dear lord! She was in serious pain! But why wouldn't she tell me? I could help her. I could make it feel better…or try to. But at least I would know! "Just go…Please…just g-go." Only one of her eyes was open and it stared at me, full of hopelessness and misery. "Please--"

"Naru!" I rushed to her side and tried to take a hold of her, to try and comfort her. It was all I could do. "Please! Just tell me what I can do! I'll do--"

"I'll tell you what you can do…" She raised her head, both of her eyes now opened. However, all I saw now was rage and anger instead of her previous hurt emotions. "You can start by just _getting the hell out of here! _" Her leg lashed out and caught me in the temple, sending me out of the room to bounce off the wall and then slide down the hall. I saw Naru thundering out of the room and slam the bathroom door shut as she went inside.

"Ouch…"

Oh boy…She couldn't have been that sick if she was able to send me flying like she did. Maybe I was just blowing the entire thing out of proportion.

The look of pain on her face came back to me like one of her punches. No, something really was wrong with. Maybe not as bad as I first thought but something was definitely going on. Naru was sick…and I had to find out just what she was sick from and why she seemed so afraid to tell me.

I picked myself off from the floor, making sure that I hadn't ripped myself a couple of new holes that I didn't want or need. Standing on my feet, I marched over to the bathroom, steeled myself to find out what the hell was going on, and sharply rapped on the door.

"Naru!"

"Go away!" was her muffled reply.

"I'm not leaving till you tell me what is up!"

A growl followed by a thumping on the door led me to believe that Naru had just punched the poor thing. I pity it… "Keitaro…if I have to come out there I'll rip your head off!"

Her voice, full of malice and spite, was almost enough to drive me off. Almost. But somewhere from deep inside of me, I found the courage to go past my fear and say what I needed to say. Meanwhile "that" part of my brain had been shut off by a capricious part of my psyche. I still have to thank the little bugger that did it. It was probably the only reason I somehow managed to grow a backbone.

"I'd rather have you do that! At least you'd be off the frickin' toilet! I swear, you've spent more time with that porcelain…_thing_ than with me!"

A red glow emanated from the doorway's cracks. Ooooh…pretty. Scary as well. I didn't know if it was from the blush that had to have been on Naru's face after my last deranged accusation or the bloodlust she must have gained as well. Knowing her, it was probably the second. I really needed to learn on how to quit when I was ahead…

The door opened a smidgen and I wasted no time in zooming in on it. I thought Naru might have given in a bit and was ready to tell me how she was sick. Heh…did I guess wrong…

I got a rather personal view of Naru's clenched fist before it piledrived me into the opposite wall. Naru's voice floated in its wake. "Idiot!"

Doh! I was so screwed, and I didn't mean because I had my head lodged in something. Though I suppose you take it literally at that, huh?

After I managed to pop my head out of the wall, I shook it a few times to clear my head. A thought occurred to me. I was trained in martial arts and should have been able to defend myself against any attacks the girls threw at me; I had even told them so last Christmas. But lately I hadn't done anything to protect myself. You'd think I'd at least try to stop their attacks every once in a while. So why didn't I? I just…took it all. I wonder…Was I…was I starting to become…a masochist?

…That was a…_mildly_ disturbing thought…

_Ahem! _Never mind, forget that. I really didn't need to contemplate on what sick, twisted part of me was forming in the back of my mind. What I needed to do was to persuade Naru out of the bathroom. Though judging from the way she reacted at my previous endeavors, this was not going to be an easy task. Ah well…

I quickly stumbled over to the bathroom and began to pound my fists on the door. "Naru, come on out!"

"No!"

"Please! Open the door!"

"Hey, part-timer, it's almost boarding ti…" I turned around to see Seta, along with Mutsumi, Nyamo, and Sarah, gazing at me strangely. His eyebrow was slightly raised, and realized just how stupid I must have looked banging on a bathroom door. "Ur, the men's room is that way." Correction – a _female's_ bathroom door.

I shook my head to rid Seta of any weird thoughts and stated, "No, Naru's in here. I have to…"

"Keitaro…" The door swung open a little bit, revealing Naru. Whatever anger she had been carrying was not completely gone, her expression reverting back to the pain and agony of before. She was still sweating, but it also seemed that tears had gathered at the corners of her eyes.

"Naru!" I exclaimed in relief. "Are you finally ready to tell me what's wrong?"

She gulped, apparently steeling herself to tell me something. "I…I'm sorry, but…" She gulped again and smiled weakly. "I can't go home with you."

I stalled for a second. This request totally caught me off guard. She wanted to… "What!"

She looked away from, holding a hand to her chin. The other one kept a firm grip on the door, making sure that it couldn't any more than the small sliver it already was. "I just…I just need to stay here. There's still…something I have to do. Please don't ask what."

I groaned in frustration. I couldn't ask! What the heck was she thinking? My girlfriend had been acting strangely all day, locked herself in a bathroom, and was asking me to leave her in some back-water country!…Okay, that was a little harsh. Pararakelse was a very nice place, but still…how was I supposed to think at that moment? Apathetic? Not worried at all? C'mon, this was Naru I was talking about! She never really asked for anything unless she had a very good reason for it. But now…now…

"What are you talking about? Why can't you just tell me what's happening? Naru! I'm really worried!"

She averted her eyes, her face contorted. It was almost as if she were wracking her brains for an answer. But then why would she… "Umm, it's about Nyamo! Yeah, that's it!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I just couldn't leave without a happy ending and all that, you know? I have to tie up the whole grandpa thing."

That was all? I sighed in relief. "That all? Good." Naru looked at me in surprise and confusion. "I worked out the whole thing with Nyamo." I rubbed the young tanned girl's head affectionately. She smiled in appreciation. "I already promised to come back and finish up the excavations as quickly as I could. So no worries about that." I laughed, content that all of the problems were solved and that Naru could finally come back with me.

Naru's face flashed with disappointment for a moment. Why, I did not know. All I did realize was that she had suddenly exited the bathroom and had begun to push me backwards. "Fine!" she muttered. "Maybe that's all good and done but…" She screwed her face up in determination and shoved me into Seta. "You're going back to Japan without me right now anyway!" I was too stunned at her order to resist. "Seta!" She pointed at my boss and mentor. "Get him on a plane right now! I don't care how, and don't ask why, but I want you to."

The man hesitated for a moment but he must have seen something in Naru's eyes because he nodded curtly and started dragging me toward the docking gate. "C'mon, Keitaro," he murmured. "Let's not go against Naru's wishes. We'd better just get on the plane and leave."

"But I…I…" Seta fixed me with a stare I rarely ever saw on him. It was serious, completely devoid of the usual joyful cluelessness that played across his features. I had only seen that look once before – the time we had taken part in that play at the Hinata Beach Café. The same look as when he challenged me for Naru's heart, knowing full well that no matter how much of a wimp I was, I wouldn't go down without a fight. I'm sure that was the same look he had whenever something really important was happening. So…I really couldn't argue with him…could I? "O…okay…"

He nodded again and guided me to the boarding terminal, his hand firmly clutching my shoulder, as if making sure I could not escape. What was going on? Why was everyone acting so weird -- including Seta? This was all so…so…

"Naru!"

I twisted around in a quick snap, dislodging Seta from my arm. What the hell was happening! Why was Naru being called for! Just what…

My answer came swift and merciless.

Naru was lying unmoving on the airport's hard…cold…floor...

ALGOALGOALGOALGOALGO

I couldn't believe it! All this trouble, all this worrying me witless, all this confusion and mystery and frickin' unbelievable mayhem was all because Naru couldn't keep her bowels from…Umm, right. Never mind.

But jeeze! I was really scared! I had thought something serious had really happened to Naru after I saw her collapse! But all it was was a nasty stomach virus! I wasn't all too surprised. I mean…drinking water from a non-purified source did run the chance of contracting something. But Naru couldn't tell me this! She'd rather lie to me and think that having…that thing…would be the end of the world! Ugh!

I voiced my anger and annoyance rather loudly. First I yelled at Seta for helping Naru lie to me. Then I yelled at Kitsune for coming up with such a stupid excuse and lying to me as well. Then I yelled even more just because I'm a total moron and oftentimes don't know when the hell to shut my mouth. Luckily this task was delegated to Motoko who easily took command by smashing me over the head with her sheathed blade. After I managed to pry myself out of the crater created, I thanked her and went back to Naru.

I carried my girlfriend back to the infirmary and tucked her into one of the cots. She was unconscious, had a slight fever, and was breathing pretty erratically around that point, but the doctor said that a little rest was all that was needed and that she'd be as good as new soon afterwards. Maybe a little stomachache but that was to be expected, he added.

So now here I was, taking charge of looking over my girlfriend's sleeping form. I thought it kinda ironic. The girl who was often so sure of herself and everything that she did lied because she had an ailment that she thought was embarrassing. If I hadn't known any better I would have sworn that I was starting to rub off on her. Making up lies on the spot because I was too afraid to admit my screw-ups, that is. Ah well, I guess that could also only be expected. She was rubbing off on me, too. How else could I explain the sudden growing of a backbone to any and all of her (or anyone else's) threats and/or advances?

In any case, just looking at her face made me feel so at peace. Her flush had subsided, letting her pale skin glisten in the darkened hospital room. A wet towel I had placed on her forehead had cooled her down significantly, so that was good. Her breathing had evened off as well, her chest rising and sinking steadily. At least I knew that she wasn't in pain; the gentle curves of her face proved that.

In fact, I was becoming real sleepy around that point. I decided that it couldn't hurt to take a quick nap. After all, I had already chosen _not_ to go back to Japan. That's right -- I chose to forfeit my chance to get into Tokyo University to make sure that Naru was going to be all right. Oh, don't look at me that way. _You_ might consider me crazy but I don't care. I would never have passed the entrance exams in the first place if it hadn't been for Naru. And no, it wasn't because I felt it was my duty to watch after her if that's what you're thinking. I wanted to. Not because I felt I had to, but _wanted_ to.

Un-huh. I didn't want to leave her just because of some stupid college. I don't care if I never make it in to that school. As long as I had Naru with me, I was happy. Besides, she said that she would wait for me for as long as it would take. And I believed her. I knew she would wait, and that was all that I ever needed to hear.

Hmm…It was nice there. I had my head pillowed on my arms, resting it on the cot near Naru's stomach. I didn't want to touch her. Not yet. It would be wrong, wrong to do something like without her knowing about it. Still, her warmth was so comforting, so soothing. I quickly nodded off, happy to know that she was right there.

I don't know how long I had slept. I didn't really care. I had had a nice dream, one when I was just a kid and playing with Naru and Mutsumi when they were little as well. I was softly broken from it, however, when I felt stirrings coming from beside me. Did that mean Naru had woken up? I lifted my head and noticed a blurry shape. "Naru, that you?"

The shaped cleared a bit. Yep, it was Naru all right -- a confused flush written all over her darling little face. Quite a cute sight to see first thing in the morning; at least I thought it was morning. Her words, though, weren't very cute at all. "Keitaro!" she shouted in shock. "W-what…what are you still doing here!"

"What, no morning kiss?" I grumbled softly. You'd think she'd be happy to see me. Ah well…

Her blush grew even worse. Damn, she was so cute just then! "That's not what I asked," she persisted. "_What_ are you still doing here?"

I sighed and reached for my glasses. Putting them on, Naru cleared up all the way. Her brow had furrowed into a bewildered scowl. Hmph…she seemed kinda pissed. Which was odd since _I _was the one who should have been angry. "I've been taking care of you since you passed out," I replied. "Really, Naru." I sighed again. "We're both adults here. If you had stomach problems you should have just told me. Not scare me half to death by pretending nothing's wrong and then fainting in the middle of the terminal." I gave her a small, sad smile. "I was really worried about you."

Her mouth snapped shut as she was about to retort, obviously uncomfortable that I had found out about her…digestive quirks. She looked away and absently squeezed the towel I had given her before in her hand. "Oh, um…sorry."

"It's okay." My eyes crinkled in silent amusement at her flustered behavior. "Just tell me what's wrong next time instead of acting like me. It doesn't suit you."

She let out a giggle. "Yeah, one idiot is enough, thank you very much." My lips curled upward. That sounded more like my Naru. Then suddenly, her face switched from giddy happiness to shocked comprehension. "Wait…if you're here and it's morning…" She slammed her hands onto the bed and shoved her face into mine. "That means that you missed your chance getting into Tokyo U! You dumbass! What the hell were you thinking!"

I sweatdropped at her abrupt, irate question. "Uh…wha?" I asked dumbly. Not the smartest response I might add. I think Naru hit the nail when she declared me a dumbass.

"Why didn't you go with Seta like I told you too! Why didn't you just ignore me and go! Damnit, I didn't want you to stay because of me! I wanted you to go! Getting into Tokyo U is you dream! So why didn't you…why didn't…Argh!" She ground her fists into her head, an action she only took when I had done something completely ignorant and annoying. Oh dear, she wasn't taking this well at all.

I glanced at my lap. What was I supposed to say to her? I suppose…the truth would be best. It wasn't like lying would help me any. It hadn't done anything for her.

I lightly took a grasp on her hand. She looked up at me, anger mixed with grief in her face and tears. I smiled. "Well…what else could I do?" Her face dissolved a bit into uncertainty. "You were in pain, Naru. I couldn't just leave you alone here. Is that what you wanted?"

Her mouth opened to speak, closed again, and then her head sunk. "You…I…That's still no reason to…you…dummy…" Her voice trailed off.

Naru squeezed my hand under hers. A teardrop fell from her face to land on it. I looked at her in bewilderment. Naru...is that really what you thought? Did you really think I'd rather leave you in pain to get back to Japan so that I could get into Tokyo U? You silly girl...You were the whole reason I wanted to go there in the first place. And now you expect me to go and abandon that reason? I would never do that...never leave behind the one person that meant so much to me, even if it meant that I had failed to get into that blasted college once again. You're all that matters to me...All that matters...

I leaned over and rested my forehead slightly against hers. I absently noted she wasn't as hot as she once was. That was good. Naru reciprocated the motion, leaning against me, her face still hidden by her bangs. I chuckled softly. How often did we get into these situations -- all the time, or hardly at all? I was never really sure -- life was always such a blur to me. But…what did it matter? I had Naru, that's all. That was all…

"You silly girl…"

"I'm not silly…"

"Yes. You are a silly girl. So don't scare me like that again, please?"

"…okay."

We stayed like that for who knows how long. It might have been a few seconds. It might have been a few hours. Time really meant nothing at that point. It was just something that existed…just not in that frame of _our_ existence.

But in all actuality, it was all that long at all. The drapes to the room were flung open by a strong wind, bathing the room in sunlight. Naru and I both blinked rapidly to get accustomed to the sudden change in light. When they did focus again, we were shocked to see that the plane -- the plane that I had missed giving up my last chance to get into Tokyo U and be happy forever or at least for that school year -- _was still on the strip way! _

Naru immediately scrambled around on the bed, clawing for the small clock on the table next to it. She grasped it in both hands and looked at it. Her face paled. Her hands shook. A tic formed on her temple -- a rather large, angry-looking tic. Oh dear…this wasn't good. "What the…! It's only been a half hour since I collapsed!" She turned around and glared at me, her teeth gnashing in a very scary manner. Crap… "You moron! You made me think it was nighttime! And here I was all worried that you missed your plane! You sympathy digger!"

I flinched on instinct. "I'm sorry! I fell asleep also! I didn't know such little time had passed! I honestly thought I missed my flight too!" But wait…If I hadn't missed my flight, then that meant I might still have a chance to--

"Hey, you two! Wake up!" The door to the infirmary flung open, revealing Seta, Su, Sarah, and Tama-chan. "I've got some bad news! Seems the crew finished early on the maintenance check so the plane's going to leave on schedule!"

We just both looked at him, out jaws slacked a little. "What did you say!"

Thinking that he had not explained it clearly enough to us the first time, Seta clarified it a bit more -- complete with erratic gestures and louder shouts. "If you don't get on that plane now, you'll never get back to Japan on time!"

I sat there, speechless. It happened again. It fucking happened again. It God-damn, go-to-hell, fucking happened _again! _Just when I thought that the universe had given me a break, just a tiny little reminder that I wasn't completely alone it in this cruel, unforgiving world…I end up stepping right in its pet's feces. Damn it! I never was going to have it easy! I never was! I never…never…Maybe I should just give up. Life wasn't going to get any better for me. No…no that would be too good for one Keitaro Urashima. I wasn't--

During my self-pitying, little bitchin' tirade, someone had grabbed my arm and was now proceeding to drag me off somewhere. After I banged my head on a doorframe for the third or fourth time, I finally realized just what was going on. Naru had taken hold of my wrist and was leading me through the airport. Her face was a giant expression of mass effort. Of course, me being the little giver-upper that I am at times, I had to ask Naru what in blazes was she doing.

"Naru…what are--"

"Shut up and run!" she responded in kind. Oh yes, that was going to help me understand why I was being thrown around like a rag doll. Shut up and r-- "If you don't get on that flight you _won't_ get into Tokyo U. I'll hit you till you're black and blue if you don't make it, you hear me!"

That did the trick. Upon knowing just what her objective was, I kicked myself into high gear, getting Naru to let go of my hand. I was soon running right by her side, making a beeline for the airplane that was getting ready to take off with the last chance I had to get into that stupid college. Oh God, how I hoped I could make it in time!

"Keep running, Keitaro!"

"Don't fall and trip, dork!"

I looked behind me to see the two people who had called me. "Su! Sarah! What the heck are you two doing here!"

"What do you think! We're making sure you get on that plane! Papa worked really hard to help you! I'm not letting it all go to waste!" Sarah yelled back. She was pumping her legs as fast as she could on that little scooter of hers. Wait…when did she get a scoo-- Ack, no! This was not the time to be thinking of such trivial matters. Gotta run!

I waved my hands frantically, trying to catch the plane's pilot's attention. "Pull over! Let us on!"

Naru followed en suite. "Hey! Over here!"

Not surprisingly, the plane didn't miraculously stop, let me on, fly to Japan, have me get into Tokyo University, and let me live happily ever. Noooo…life couldn't give me that little joyous tidbit! Gaaahhhh! I hated this! Why! Why! Why……!

"Urashima!" Oh, and then there was that. "Why aren't you on that plane!" Motoko, followed by Shinobu, soon followed in the wake of my run. Oh man, if it wasn't bad enough I could miss my only ticket home, I now had an enraged Motoko on my heels. This was turning out to be a wonderful day…

"Funny story really," I screamed, making sure I had an ample amount of space between Motoko and I. "There was this delay and--"

"Stop yapping and keep running!" That was Naru.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"(Keitaro!)"

"Over here! Grab on!"

"(Keitaro!)"

"Huh?" I turned my head to see Seta's ran barreling on down to the right of me. In it was Kitsune at the wheel and Nyamo hanging out of the window, waving her arm to get me. A van? Yes! A faster way of getting where I needed to go! I ran alongside the van before launching myself through the open door. "Alright! Thank you, Kitsune! You're a lifesaver!" She laughed in response. I noticed that Motoko and Su were already in the backseat. They must have jumped in right before I did. Ignoring them, I decided to get a better vantage point. Latching onto the frame, I flipped myself up onto the roof, a feat that wasn't exactly easy but at least doable for me. Yes…this was much better.

"Oof! Kei, you could at least give me a hand!" I looked down to see Naru trying to clamber onto the roof as well. I grasped her hand and began to pull her up. That was when Kitsune really cranked up the speed, the tires burning a scorch mark into the ground. However, due to the sudden change, I almost lost my grip on Naru. Thankfully I pulled back hard enough to yank her up, only for the both of us to land in a rather awkward position. No one could see it, though…Whew…

After getting back into a more appropriate position, Naru banged her fist onto the van's roof. "Kitsune! Where'd and when'd you learn to drive!" She was obviously irritated by the erratic driving skills of Kitsune. At least she wasn't as bad as Seta. Speaking of Seta, I bet he was wondering just where his car had gotten off to. Probably thought some turtles had made off with it.

Kitsune laughed, enjoying her brief time as a racecar driver. "Don't sweat the small stuff, Naru! Anyway, how do ya think we're going to get the plane to stop? Ask it nicely to pull over?" It'd be nice if it were that simple. Though nothing ever is…

I saw the barrel of some weapon poke its way out of the window. It looked like something that belonged to Su. My mouth went dry. Oh no…Don't tell me she was going to shoot the plane down with one of her inventions! I could see the headlines now, "Foreign Terrorists Shoot Down Innocent Civilians Plane. Gunned Down When Pararakelse Police Officers Arrived On Scene." Damn it! I couldn't be a terrorist! I couldn't even be any type of bad guy! I was too weak-kneed for that line of work! What was I--

"Put those toys away _now! _"

The cannon hesitated before slinking back through the window. Thank God for Kitsune! We weren't going to be labeled as international terrorists now! My record was clean! Oh wait…no it wasn't. Multiple accounts of perversion were on my record…Damn my klutziness! Argh! I was probably the only person in Japan who had a record a mile long filled with nothing but sexual harassment claims! I hated my life!

In no time flat we managed to catch up with the airplane. And man, was the thing huge! How the heck was I supposed to get the thing's attention! It was like an ant trying to get an elephant to take notice of it. Damn it! And we couldn't go any faster, the van was reaching its limits as I spoke. I wasn't going to make it!

Naru took a solid grip on my shoulders. "Okay, we'll do this like in the movies. We'll get close and then you can jump, got it! Your immortality will definitely come in handy here!"

"I'm not ready for this!"

"Shut up and jump, you sissy!"

My brain calculated the odds of my survival. They weren't pretty or very hopeful.

ODDS OF MAKING IT TO THE PLANE AND INSIDE WITHOUT HARM: 15 ODDS OF MAKING IT TO THE PLANE AND INSIDE WITH INJURY: 30 ODDS OF FAILING TO MAKE IT INSIDE AT ALL: 80 ODDS OF FALLING TO THE GROUND AND BEING RUN OVER BY THE PLANE AND/OR CURRENT MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: 75 ODDS OF GETTING SUCKED INTO THE JET TURBINES AND BEING SLICED, DICED, OR OTHERWISE GORY WAYS OF DISEMBOWLMENT AND GETTING TURNED INTO A SUBSTANCE RESEMBLING SPAM: 60 OTHER WAYS TO FAIL AND GAINING GREVIOUS INJURIES: 55

My sub-conscious skimmed over the printout my panic system had made in order to verify just what my chances were. It raised an eyebrow. 'So more or less he's very screwed.'

THAT IS CORRECT!

It sighed. 'He never seems to have life go his way, does he?'

NO! OUR MASTER SEEMS TO HAVE VERY LITTLE OF WHAT YOU CALL "LUCK"! IT IS TOO BAD!

'Poor, poor bastard… Wonder if I can find a job someone else…'

Gaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! This majorly sucked! But it wasn't like I had much of a choice. It was now or never. Damn it, I wanted a third option! I reached out my arm for the plane's wing, hoping to get a good grasp of it. "Here goes nothing!"

And it really was nothing, because the plane decided to take off at that very moment. I could only watch, dumbfounded, as it slowly lifted off the ground. Once up in the air, the metallic bird gained speed and quickly became nothing more than a dot in the clear, blue Pararakelsian sky. In a way, it was very beautiful -- seeing that object float off into space, never to be seen again until who knows…

What the hell am I waxing philosophical for! That was my only ride out of here! Shit!

The van eventually slowed down. Sarah and Shinobu caught up with us, standing right next to the van. Everyone climbed off, except for me. I just sat there, staring at where the plane had disappeared from view. My chance, my hope, my dream…It was gone. It had disappeared over the horizon. Everything I had aspired for, everything I had worked up to, everything I had sacrificed…had amounted up to nothing. My life was worthless. I was just a lowly child, not even a man, who couldn't do a single thing no matter how hard I tried. What had I…what had I been doing with my life? I wasted it, wasted it all…

I felt like I had when I first thought I failed the exam. All the cheers the girls had given me, all the time Naru took out of her day to help me study, all the promises I had made…I had thrown it all back in their faces, like I was laughing at them. I had failed them and this time I had no excuse to give except for my own stupidity.

This was the way my life worked out. Every time something important was going to happen to me, I screwed it up. Like at my middle school graduation, when I tripped over my own two feet and crashed into the principle, knocking her off the stage and onto the band. She had to stay in the hospital for a week. Or the time when I was in the school play and I had that one scene with the girl I really liked. I stepped on the hem of her dress and ripped it, making her half-naked when she walked out of it. I earned a good slap for that one. Or the time I nearly burned down my parents' bakery when I was left in charge while they went to pick up some more ingredients. I had left the oven on and then went to help some customers, completely forgetting about it. By the time I came back, half the kitchen was on fire. Needless to say my parents didn't trust me all that much after that.

Hell, I'm surprised I hadn't completely destroyed my relationship with Naru. You'd think someone as worthless as me would screw up some time or other, and not the little screw-ups like I usually do. I mean the big, honking, what-the-fuck-are-you-doing, are-you-a-moronic-jackass, it's-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it screw-up. I'm sure it was just waiting to spring itself out at me. Just waiting…

During my period of self-loathing, my ears perked up when they heard the girls talking. They were talking about other ways to get me home. Some were sensible but weren't going to happen, some were darn-near-insane. It warmed my heart to know they were still trying when I had given up. Wait…they were still…

Then I picked up the sound of sobbing. I glanced down to find Naru collapsed on her knees, bawling her eyes out. She was going on and on about how it was all her fault that I was still here. That if only she hadn't gotten sick, I would've been on my way home. But how could she? How could she blame…how could she blame herself for _my_ weakness, for _my_ lack of worth?

The others hung their heads, as if giving up themselves. I couldn't blame them. With someone as idiotic as me as the one taking care of them (an extremely laughable idea), how could they have any hope left?

"It's over…"

Those words captivated me. They tumbled around in the recesses of my brain, repeating themselves over and over again. It was over. Yes, it was all over. What else could I possibly do…?

Then their previous words came back to me. How they were proud of me, how they were envious if not confused by my persistence, how they liked that I always tried to keep a happy spin on things. They were trying their best to fulfill my dreams, and here I was moping around like a toddler who didn't get dessert. What the heck was I thinking? These women cared about me, whether they'd ever admit it or not, and all I could do was throw it away. Well…not anymore! Bad things weren't the only events that transpired on this island, good ones happened as well. I had to focus more on the good things, so as not let the bad ones take over. I would show them, show them that their efforts weren't in vain. I would show them that I appreciated what they did for me, and that I would be ever grateful for how they treated me. Because…that was how I honestly felt.

I hopped down from the van, landing softly behind the girls. I clamped my hands into fists, preparing myself for what I had to say. And by everything that I was, I was going to say this!

"No…" I uttered in a low, steady voice. "It's not over."

The girls slowly turned around and looked at me, as if not believing what I had just said. They remained silent until Naru softly croaked out, "Wha…what do you mean?" The tears were still quietly streaming down her face.

I looked down at my feet, not really sure on what to say. But then, it came to me as easily as it came to loving every single one of the girls. I looked back up at them and smiled. "I've realized something on my short time on the island. The excavation work I've been involved with here is really rewarding…" I gazed over at Nyamo as I said the next part, silently thanking her for all she had done. "…And it's something I'd love to be involved in for the rest of my life. I don't regret a thing. So what if I didn't make it back to Japan! It was worth it."

I turned back to the girls, ready to make the big thank-you I had wanted to say for a long time, ever since I arrived at Hinata House, but just never really knew the time and place to tell them all. Well, now was the time and here was the place. "And all of you for coming this far for someone like me…that makes me the happiest man alive." I smiled as happily as I could, my eyes closed softly, and gave a small bow. "Thank you so much for everything."

I twisted around and looked again at where the plane had vanished into the deep sky. I raised a hand and clenched it into a fist, making myself a promise. "And I'll apply to Tokyo University again next year, because this time I've not only got a dream, but a future to fulfill as well." Looking at my girlfriend, I laughed gently. "So…will you wait one more year for me? Huh, Naru?"

She just stared back. "Kei…Keitaro…" She then smiled. Wiping her face clear of her tears, she stood up and walked over to me. Glancing me in the eyes just for a moment, Naru's lips quirked before she planted her forehead on my shoulder. "Sure."

That one word meant everything to me. I almost did the same thing but was interrupted when Mutsumi and Seta appeared. Mutsumi still had that carefree expression on her face, so I guess she didn't know about my whole "failing to get home" thing. Heh…just like Mutsumi.

"Hello, everyone!" she called out. "So _this_ is where you all went off to! We were looking all over for you!" Looking all over…why would you have to do that! Seta should have known where we were. He practically told us to go after the stupid plane! So why didn't he know…Gaahhh! And Mutsumi stayed peacefully oblivious to her surroundings. "What's the matter, everyone? What's with all the gloomy faces?"

"You really wanna know the whole story?" I asked. I wasn't exactly feeling up to the whole challenge of repeating everything that had happened but I supposed I would at least try if it was Mutsumi that was asking.

Luckily I didn't need to as Mutsumi only giggled. "Come now, Kei-kun. Don't you think it's time to fork over that exam ticket? If we don't get it in the mail by tomorrow then you'll definitely not get into Tokyo U."

All of us looked at her as though she was going crazy. What the heck was she talking about? Didn't she realize that I couldn't make it back now, that it was too late for me to get into Tokyo U? Or did she know something that the rest of us…

Naru gaped, her face full of disbelief. "In the mail? By to…tomorrow?"

I sighed. Putting a hand on the back on my neck, I looked down at the ground in hopelessness. How could I break this to her? With Mutsumi's oblivious, carefree nature, it wasn't going to be easy explaining just how bad I had failed. "Um, Mutsumi, I hate to break this to you…" I continued in a much quieter voice. "But there's no way that we'll be able to make the March 15th deadline."

Su held up her little countdown clock (the one that counted the amount of time left before it became March 15th) to further prove my point. "We're outta time."

"Oh my…" Mutsumi held a hand up to her mouth and giggled softly. Why was she laughing? It wasn't that funny. In fact, it was horrible! But…it wasn't like she was laughing at _me_, more like she was laughing at a private joke. But what could be so funny? "I see what's going on here. So that's why everyone was in such a big rush today." She clapped her hands together and giggled again. "Now I understand--"

"Huh?" I just looked at her, not having a clue. Heh, was I in for a surprise.

Mutsumi laughed gently. "Eh heh, you see…"

ALGOALGOALGOALGOALGO

I don't think I had ever been as happy to see a post office as I did that one. The stamp came down, the price was paid, and my letter was post marked for the 15th of March -- _the day after the 15th. _

I think I must have just stood there for several minutes in complete shock when Mutsumi took us to the Pararakelse post office the next day. She said something about the international dateline and Pararakelse straddling it or something and other, but I honestly wasn't paying attention. My brain was too busy performing damage control from the monumental stroke of good luck that had just come crashing into me after its brother had had fun laughing at me and poking me in the side.

But then it finally hit me…

I was now a proud student of Tokyo U! I had made it! I finally had gotten in! And do you know what I planned to do after to celebrate such an occasion?

I was going to Disney World! Oh, wait…no I wasn't. What the heck kind of stuff am I spouting? Ehem, I meant that I was gonna have one helluva party! Yahoo!

All of Hinata House including me, the girls, Seta, Nyamo, Tama-chan, and Gidget were having the party of our lives at the little restaurant where Naru and I had gotten back together. There was joy, there was merriment, there was happiness, there was tons and tons and _tons_ of food and alcohol (I tried my best to keep Kitsune away from the stash but she had been deprived of her sweet sustenance for too long so it was like trying to hold back a tsunami with a tissue; she was rip roaring drunk 5 minutes in.) But most of all, I was there with my friends and loved ones…

I laughed loudly, still trying to convince myself that this wasn't all some elaborate dream my sub-conscious was playing on me. I had even pinched myself a couple of times to make sure (even Su and Sarah had contributed by whacking me in the back of the head a few times) but luckily I never woke up. "You see, as long the package is postmarked by the 15th, I'm home free!" I added one last word to make sure. "Right?"

Su laughed alongside me. "Yeah, but if you had given me enough time, I would have sent you into orbit." She wasn't kidding. One of the ways Su had tried to get me back home was by strapping me to her giant SUV of a turtle-car, setting the rockets to overdrive, and blasting me all the way to Japan. Needless to say her plan blew up – _literally_. The nuclear core of the Mecha-Tamago4 had a meltdown a hundred feet up. I was all nice and crispy by the time I hit the ground.

Kitsune sidled up next to me and playfully nudged me with her elbow. She was more than a bit plastered, her face a lovely shade of red and her smile a bit more quirky than usual. "Woo…" she exclaimed. I could easily smell the alcohol on her breath. "We went through a lot. But it's all over now, ain't it?"

I laughed again and scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, but it was one heck of an adventure!" My laughing quickly faded out. I sighed and looked down at my plate, idly playing around with the food. There was something that I had to say, something that would officially bring this chapter of my life to an end. It had to be short and sweet but also speak volumes. I just hoped that I could accomplish such a thing.

I cleared my throat loudly, trying to get everyone's attention. They stopped partying for the moment and looked at me. I smiled and then began to address them all in turn. "Cheerful Mutsumi. Agent Seta. Precious Shinobu. Eloquent Motoko. Tipsy Kitsune. Resourceful Su. Rambunctious Sarah. Quiet Nyamo. Tama-chan and Gidget, the unlikely couple. And Beautiful Naru. As long as I live, I will never forget this month." I chuckled and raised my glass in gratitude. "Thank you for helping me through it."

The room remained silent for a few moments. Then it was quickly broken when Kitsune broke out into laughter. "Heh heh, and what a month it was!" Her hand moved to something hidden, her face breaking into a frightening leer. The others looked at what she held in her hand before their faces cracked into silent amusement. Oh no, this wasn't good… "I wonder…Who do we have to blame for this!"

She raised the object up to my view. My face paled beyond all recognition. Oh damn…you have _got_ to be kidding me…I quickly stood. "This is mutiny!"

"Not like I care!" Kitsune took one lunge at me, which I managed to avoid before running off. She quickly gave chase.

"No…! Not the peanut butter!"

"Forgiveness doesn't come cheap!"

The next few minutes I'd rather not discuss. All I have to say was that it was something that I looked back fondly on and laughed at. In any case, this part of my life was now over and I came out smelling like roses. I was back with my friends, back with my love, had finally gotten into the college of my dreams, and all was right with the world…

Too bad it wasn't meant to last. I would find this out the hard way…

…the very, _very_ hard way.

A/N: Well, that's it. The end of Volume 8! I hoped you enjoyed this obviously belated chapter and I hope it somehow made up for the horrific wait all of you had to go through to read it. From now on, I'll try a little harder to update but I've got a lot of other thing to do. For instance, I'm now writing original stories as well as programming a video game on the side with a friend. Meh, anyway, from now on I'm going to be doing something special for each of my various stories. For ALGO, I'm going to keep doing all of the interviews. For the others, I'll do things like responding to my reviewers, giving up quotes for each chapter, making a poll that'll decide how the story will go, even set up a contest! How does that sound? Oh, and I'm not going to bother proofreading anymore. It takes too much time and it doesn't seem to make a much of a difference anyway. In any case, hope to see ya all again soon! Please review, and remember, no flames! Now, here's the interview!

_Once again, we find ourselves in author space. All of the characters including chaos and the rest are just lazing about considering they've been locked up for such a long time. Suddenly, a door appears out of nowhere and who should appear but…Yes! Yamiga!_

Yamiga: (waves) Hey, everybody!

Everybody Else: _(heads whip around; smiles) _Yamiga!

Yamiga: How have you all been doing?

E.E.: _(smiles turn into snarls; growls) _Ya-mi-ga…You…

Yamiga: _(sweatdrops; laughs nervously) _Oh, crap…

E.E.: _(launch themselves at Yamiga) _Get him! _(dogpile on Yamiga!) _

Yamiga: WAAAHHHH! Don't kill me!

chaos: You moron! _(shakes Yamiga by scruff of collar) _We've been stuck here for 294 days and you think you can just waltz back in thinking there weren't going to be any dire consequences!

Yamiga: _(crying) _I didn't think there weren't going to be any dire consequences! I don't think at all! I'm more absentminded than Keitaro is!

Keitaro: _(annoyed; holding down Yamiga's left leg) _Hey, don't bring me into this! It's not my fault we've all been stuck in this wasteland for so long!

Yamiga: _(even more terrified) _It's not my fault either! You guys are public property! It's not like I can keep you here against your will! You could have left at any time!

Kitsune: _(growls) _What the hell are you talking about! We can't make a door like you can!

Yamiga: I only use a door to get here from the real world! You guys use the character entrance! It's right there! How could you miss it? _(points in a random direction) _

E.E.: _(look to notice a giant, double-door with the heading "Fanfiction Characters" in big, bold, red letters; sweatdrop as one) _Oh.

Yamiga: _(cries in frustration) _How the hell did you think you got here in the first place!

Naru: No excuses! You should have told us about it before you left!

E.E.: Yeah!

Yamiga: B…but…

Su: You shouldn't have taken so long to write another chapter!

E.E.: Yeah!

Yamiga: But I couldn't w…

Motoko: And now I think it's time to exact our vengeance… _(unsheathes katana; demon smile is plastered on her face) _Hold him down!

Yamiga: Noooooooooo!

_And the rest isn't pretty. His cries of pain lasted into nightfall and daybreak. Luckily the moron never forgot to anger the characters of his works again…even if it were their stupidity that led to the screw-up in the first place…Eh, in any case, please review! _

_Preview!_

_Next Chapter: Stress Fractures_

_Honestly, I thought that this feeling would last forever. This feeling of contentment and peace that permeated throughout my entire body. I thought that I'd be with the one I loved till the end of time, growing old together. I thought that nothing could go wrong. I thought that this type of love would never be able to be broken. But as I looked out the hospital window at the starless sky and her last spoken words still revolving around the corners of my mind I realized something that would haunt me even to this very day. _

_This type of love just wasn't strong enough…_


End file.
